Falling For The First Time
by FrozenLioness
Summary: [AU RikuxSora] Sora's in a new school and lives in a shabby apartment with his mother. Riku's the son of a rich man, perfect student and school representative. Sora has no friends. Riku is a ladykiller. Will their life change once they meet? DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: **This is a fic I had in mind for about half a year? I dunno. I've always wanted to write an AU fic where Sora is a new student and really poor and he meets Riku who is everything Sora wants to be. And of course Riku is a total ladykiller and even the boys fall for him. So it's obvious that Sora's gonna fall for him and yeah. A RikuxSora fic, what else ^^   
I don't know what you'll think of this fic and I don't know what exactly this is going to be but I just typed out this first chapter so read it if you like. Yeah. Um. have fun! 

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It was Wednesday and Sora loathed it. He loathed it because today was his first day at the new school. Everyone was staring at him, whispering in hushed voices as he walked past them, trying to find that damned classroom. He had no idea about the building and the fact that he didn't even know which class he was in made it even worse. 

He sighed, feeling his stomach twist in nervousness. His first day and he was already going to be late. In his old school he had no problems whatsoever but things changed since his mother got a new job in this new town. They had to move, move from their cosy, if small, house into another small one, which was not cosy at all. It was a shabby apartment but Sora wouldn't complain because he knew how much his mother worked just to get them through. It had been hard for them ever since Sora's father died. It was a stupid car accident and Sora wondered why in the world his father had to be the one dying in that accident and not the drunk who was driving the damned car. 

A sudden row of giggles and whispers pulled the boy out of his thoughts. He thought the group of girls was laughing at him, it wouldn't surprise him. After all, he was standing in the middle of the hallway with a lost expression on his face, seeming even more confused than he was. The fact that he was almost one year younger than most of the people here was also making him nervous. Most people born in August would have gone to school one year later but he went anyway and so he was always the youngest in his class. In his old school, this hadn't been a problem but here? He didn't know if his new classmates would accept him. Were the girls already laughing at him? It would just be his luck. 

But he was wrong, for the girls weren't laughing at him but giggling and gushing about someone who came striding down the hall. 

"Ahh, see, he's got a new shirt! I saw him buy it at this fancy store!" one of the girls exclaimed, getting heart-shaped eyes and a flushed face as she told the story of running into - and there was the name Sora didn't catch - as she was going out for some shopping. 

"I heard he's got a girlfriend now, you know, that girl from class B. She's in my drama class," another girl whispered. Immediately a row of surprised murmurs ran through the group. Some girls insisted that it was just a rumour and that their God did not have a girlfriend. Some said that it must be true since the two were always hanging around each other. 

"Kairi is her name, I think? But why is he interested in that girl? I mean, okay, she seems like the perfect girl and she's nice and she's pretty and.." A sigh travelled through the group and they all had hopeless expressions at this. 

"What a perfect match. Riku and Kairi." 

Sora's ears perked up. Riku. He thought he had seen that name somewhere. 

'Must remember...must remember...think, Sora,' he told himself, wondering where he could have seen that name. It wasn't on TV because ever since they came here he had no television. The only thing that kept him connected to the outside world was the occasional newspaper he found. Not that they actually got it, they couldn't afford anything beside the most necessary food, but Sora wouldn't complain, no he wouldn't. 

And so it struck him, as the girls swooned one after the other and a boy passed them, flashing them a smile that seemed charming, yet empty. 

Silver hair that fell gracefully around the line of his perfect neck, a face shaped like something that was not known to man, for it seemed too angelic to be anything from this world. Sora gulped as his eyes wandered up and down to inspect the boy, who was coming closer, even towards him. 

The eyes, he noticed, were green. No, they were blue. Actually they were both. It was weird and so mesmerizing at the same time; the way his eyes took in every surrounding color and mixed it into his own swirl of greenish blue, so enigmatic and so perfect, Sora felt paralysed. 

"Hey, I haven't seen you anywhere before. Are you new?" 

Sora felt like swooning, too, now that he heard that voice. 'Must keep calm, must keep calm,' his mind chanted, forcing him to keep his nervousness down. How uncool it would seem if he just started to squeak and faint like the girls. Nope, he would not be uncool, not in front of this gorgeous. 

"Oh God...." he heard himself squeak and felt a sudden rush of blood come to his face. 

The angel before him smirked, perfect lips moving in a swift motion. 

"Guess that means yes, huh? Troubles finding the classroom, right?" 

Sora dumbly nodded since he was too afraid to say anything else. He would just make a fool of himself, acting like a stupid girl seeing her crush. But he remembered now, now that he saw this boy close up. Yes, this was Riku, the Riku. He had read about him in the newspaper, seen a black and white photo of him which didn't do him any justice now that he could see the utter beauty in real life. That boy, the son of the richest man in the city, or even country, he wasn't sure. But he knew that this Riku boy was said to be the most talented kid ever, that he was intelligent, knew how to play the piano and that he had amazing skills at sports. All in all, Riku was perfect, and he was rich, too. He was, probably, everything Sora was not and wanted to be. 

"Well, I'm Riku and I think you're Sora, am I right? I've been told to take care of you for the first few days since you're new here. They told me you'd be cute but I didn't think..." 

He paused, leaning close to the other boy's ear, while Sora began to blush furiously. 

"...you'd be so adorable," he whispered, pulling back to wink and the brunet. 

'Nosebleed,' was the next thing Sora knew and before he realized what was happening he was in the bathroom with Riku who was helping him to make it stop. The silver haired boy gently wiped at Sora's nose with a few tissues and brushed some bangs out of the flushed face. He was smiling all the while and Sora would not look up at him in fear he would just get another nosebleed. He was panic-stricken, now that he knew what effect this boy had on him. And the fact that he had not even said a word yet made it all worse. How would he be able to stand school, knowing that this boy was around? He was in his class! 

"I guess you're not really talkative?" Riku eventually asked, waving his hand in front of the other boy's eyes to make him snap out of his daze. 

Sora bit his lip. He was talkative. He just wasn't right now. He shook his head to say so but then realized that it could have meant the opposite, too. 

He finally opened his mouth. "I am talkative! I can talk like a waterfall when I'm excited but I just don't feel like talking right now!" he huffed in a pouty fashion. 

Then he blinked. Cursing himself, he rolled his eyes at his childish outburst. Something about this Riku-guy made him feel inferior, and he wanted to beat him. Riku had everything he was dreaming of. He was popular, whereas Sora had never had many friends. He was intelligent, while Sora had to struggle for his good marks. Life had been hard on Sora while Riku seemed to be wrapped in a cosy blanket of luck and glory... 

Sora then blinked again, wondering how he could think like that. He didn't even know this boy. He had only read about him in the newspaper, seen him for a few minutes now, but did he really know this boy? He remembered the smile he had given the girls. Charming, yes, but empty in a way. Like a mask he was wearing. But was he really? Or was Sora just making everything more dramatic to give it some sense?

He sighed. This was stupid. 

Riku only smiled, and wiped one last time to make sure the bleeding at stopped. He threw away the tissues and patted Sora's cheek as though he was a baby. 

"Good boy," he mocked, smirking once again at the blush that came up on Sora's face. The brunet pouted and lightly shoved at the other boy. 

"Heh, I think we should go now. I'm school representative and all but we should still be punctual." Without further words he took Sora's hand, pulling him along as they walked out into the halls again. Most pupils were gone now, probably in their classrooms and the two boys hurried into their own classroom. Sora tried to memorize the way since he couldn't rely on Riku forever. He had to get a map of this building or something to find all the rooms on his own when he needed to. 

Eventually they arrived at a door and Riku knocked lightly before opening it. As they entered the room, a horde of rabid girls began to screech and faint while the boys either groaned at the outburst or simply nodded in respect at Riku. The teacher, who was a woman around thirty, rolled her eyes but Sora could see a blush on her cheeks. 

"Good morning, Riku. I see you've decided to join us?" she asked, trying to sound a little sarcastic but failed as the silver haired boy's charm enveloped her. 

"Um, yes, I had to take care of a few things, I'm sorry for being late. This is Sora, by the way and he'll be our classmate from now on," he introduced the boy next to him and Sora noted how uninterested all the girls seemed. They were all focused on Riku and didn't care at all for Sora. He slumped his shoulders a little and looked around to see if there was a vacant seat. In fact, there were two in the back row, but one probably belonged to Riku. The seat next to that was vacant, too, so he would definitely sit with Riku. 

"Ah, well, Riku, I'm glad you're here. So, let's sit down and begin with our lesson." She smiled sweetly at Sora and gestured him to sit down with Riku. They obeyed and Sora waited after Riku took seat next to a girl who was surprisingly calm instead of squealing and giggling like the others. 

The teacher began to talk about something but Sora wasn't listening. Probably not the greatest idea in the world but he couldn't care less at the moment. He was more interested watching Riku and the girl, as they scribbled notes and passed them to each other. Riku smiled occasionally, shaking his head slightly while the girl gave him some looks, which Sora could not really identify. Either she was mocking him or admiring him, he didn't know. 

Then, after the teacher had finished the boring talk and went to the task of writing on the blackboard, a few pupils started to whisper and chat with each other. Sora smiled at this. At least some things were still the same as in his old school. Riku and the girl stopped passing notes and began to whisper to each other, too. Sora looked at them, wondering if it would be rude to listen to their conversation. He felt a little excluded but noted that Riku was glancing at him out of the corner of his eye more than just once. It seemed he was checking if he was still there or something. 

Sora shrugged. 

"I heard you were overrun by your groupies yesterday?" the girl whispered, chuckling slightly as she saw Riku's annoyed face. 

"Kairi, please don't remind me of that again," he muttered, casting another short glance at Sora before turning back to listen to the teacher. 

Sora raised his eyebrows. So that was the girl, Kairi. The girls in the halls had been talking about her. How perfect she was.Well, she did seem okay, different from most of the girls here but was she really Riku's girlfriend? Sure, they seemed to be close but they didn't seem like being an item and in Sora's opinion, they didn't even match. Of course they were both nice and somehow different from the others but he would have taken them for siblings, not a couple. 

Riku noticed Sora's frown as he glanced at the boy and turned his head. 

"Something the matter?" 

Sora immediately tensed, attempting to shake his head but he was stopped by Kairi's voice. 

"Aww, see what you've done?" she playfully scolded and tapped Riku's shoulder. 

The silver haired boy turned back to her and blinked. "What? What did I do?" he innocently asked, holding his voice low so the teacher wouldn't turn around. The girl gave him another one of those looks Sora couldn't decipher and Riku rolled his eyes. 

"Oh please," he muttered. Kairi chuckled and shrugged. 

Sora was confused. These two seemed to talk without talking at all. Were they some kind of telepaths or something? 

Riku turned back to him and gave him a smile. "You'll get used to this all. Just take a few days to adjust but I promise you this school is really fun." 

Sora knew Riku was trying his best to do his job, to 'take care' of him to make sure he would adjust to the school. It was his job as school representative, obviously enough. 

"Yeah, sure," he answered, reaching into his bag to take a sheet of paper. He scribbled something, crumpled it up and passed it over Riku to Kairi. 

The silver haired boy raised his eyebrows as he found himself excluded from this message and frowned. 

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he saw Kairi giggling and nodding at Sora, who smiled back at her. 

The teacher turned around and a few students stared at the three teens in the back row. 

"What, Riku?" the teacher politely asked. 

The silver haired boy winced. "Whoops..." he muttered, then shook his head. "Ah, nothing. I'm sorry." He lowered his head, smiling sheepishly at the woman who immediately melted at the sight. 

"Aww, that's okay, Riku." She turned back to write on the blackboard and Kairi and Sora rolled their eyes. The girl gave Riku a light punch and snorted. 

"Mr Perfect is even taking over the minds of teachers. Shame on you, you charming monster," she joked and Riku rubbed his temples in annoyance. Sora chuckled. Charming monster, yes, that was what he was. Too charming for his own good. Too perfect to be true. Everyone would fall for him, no matter if they were girl or woman, boy or man. 

Everyone would fall for him, and Sora had the feeling that he just did. 

- To be continued? - 

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**Ending notes: **This is just the first chapter so don't hate me if it sucks. Tell me in your reviews if you liked it and if it's worth continuing! I also plan to make Kairi a nice girl. I'm tired of making her a psycho lol. Next Lesson is an exception, though. I need the evil bitch there. Um, okay. Review! Review, review, review! ehem. Review. *nods* 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Wow! o_O so many reviews already?? I can't believe you like this story so much ^^   
The idea's not really original I guess but I'll try to make it worth reading! Last chapter was Sora's POV so we get Riku's in this one. I tried to make this a little more believable so we get to see what the Mr Perfect actually thinks and feels ^^ 

Umm and Chiikuu: about this brunet vs brunette thing. Actually someone pointed out to me that it is spelled brunet. For more info, I've looked it up both on the internet and my own dictionary and it's right. 'brunette' is used for females so since Sora is not a girl it's spelled 'brunet'. you can look for yourself: 

www,bartleby,com/64/C005/002.html 

I guess not many people know about that so I don't think there's much difference.... I used to write 'brunette' because 'brunet' look a little, well, wrong to me. I still mix it up sometimes so I might spell the word different in every other sentence...eheh. I guess it's ok as long as it gets the point across, though. 

========= 

The bell rang and Riku made his way through the crowded halls. The school day was already over and Sora was stuck in the classroom, talking to a teacher who tried to explain the curriculum and rules to him. Riku smiled as he thought of the new boy. He seemed interesting in a way, outstanding compared to all the other bland students in this school. Even though every girl in the entire school was trying to get close to Riku, he never really bothered to like anyone. 

He sighed. Sometimes he felt stupid. He felt like he was caged by his parents in a way even though he was rich and could do practically everything he wanted to. If he decided to go to Disney Land he could have just taken their private jet and gone to wherever he wanted - as long as he was back for the dinner party. Idiotic dinner parties. Oh and yes, they had a private jet. Riku loathed it because all the girls wanted to see it and revelled of them and Riku flying to Paris. 

"The city of looooveee---" he sarcastically sang to himself, imitating those idiot girls chasing him. 

He shook his head and continued to walk down the hall. Idiot girls, he repeated in his mind. And still he flirted with every single of them, using his charm every day. It was the only way to deal with them, he thought. They weren't his friends, nor did he want to be friends with them, so the next best thing to keep them from being overly depressed and heart broken (yes, he knew how those teenage girls were) was to pretend he actually cared for them. Not that he really did, or tried to make them like him. They just fell for him the moment they saw him and he couldn't do a thing to make it stop. It was like a curse. 

"Riku!" 

He winced. A girl's voice but at least it wasn't any of his groupies. 

"Kairi," he muttered, turning around with a forced smile. 'No need to be harsh to her, she's not one of the idiot girls,' he told himself. Still, he had to get home now. He promised his parents to come home as soon as possible since there was a banquet that he needed to attend. 

'Stupid banquet...' He had never understood why he had to be there when his parents had a party. They called it his duty as their heir and he always pretended to understand although in reality he thought it was ridiculous. 

"Hey!" 

Kairi nearly ran him over as she jumped to catch up with him. She hugged him, smiling brightly as always and Riku sighed, waiting for her to finish. He always let her hug him but he never really hugged her back. Kairi was used to it, though. 

She nodded, brushed herself off and straightened. 

"Sooooo, you seem to have found a new target, huh?" 

Riku watched her in confusion and a bit of annoyance. What was she talking about? 

"New target? What do you mean?" He saw Kairi giving him one of these looks again and rolled his eyes as he understood what she meant. He hated those looks. She always had to do that. 

"Oh come on! It's not like I'm doing this on purpose! He fell for me, I didn't do anything!" 

Kairi continued staring at him with that particular expression and it really, really unnerved him to see her like that. Suddenly he wished she were one of those idiot girls because then he could have just told her to run around in circles and bark like a dog - she would have done it. Every girl would gladly do that for Riku if he only asked nicely. 

But Kairi was different. She had been like that when they first met, drooling over Riku just like everyone else. Something, however, changed between them once Riku realized how easy it was to talk to her. She was always nice and fun to hang out with, sometimes had a scary side and a bit of insanity in her but all in all she was, well, acceptable. Not a friend, though. Riku had no friends. 

"Don't do it to him. He's not like the rest." 

He snapped out of his thoughts and saw her eyes drift away to gaze into the distance of the corridor where their classroom was. His gaze followed hers and he idly wondered why she was so concerned about this boy. It wasn't like they knew each other. He was, after all, just a student like everyone else and why did Kairi think she had the right to stop him from doing _ it_ to him? On the other hand, he had to admit that the boy did seem different and not like the rest. Maybe that was the reason Kairi cared for him that much. 

He frowned, wondering what kind of feeling just passed him. It was like...like something burning him. He didn't like the fact that Kairi was more concerned about this boy than him. Not that he really cared for her attention, nope, he didn't need anyone to really care for him. And still, he felt that he didn't like it. 

Thoughts coming back to focus on Sora, Riku remembered the love-struck expression of the boy when they first met. And this expression lasted the whole day. He could see that Sora was in love with him like everyone else, seeing only a perfect being and not a person, so why should he not flirt with him to keep him happy? He did it with everyone, even the teachers who fell for him because he didn't want to break anyone's heart. Letting them keep their little world of fantasies was better than being completely anti-social even if he sometimes wished to be it. But that was against his education. He had been taught since he was a baby to keep social connections and he'd always been told that he was lucky to have this natural charm. 

"You just don't understand, do you?" Kairi suddenly asked and it surprised Riku even if her voice was calm and soft. He cast his eyes down, frowning and biting his lower lip in thought. What did he not understand? 

"I said Sora's different. He's not chasing after you like a rabid fangirl. He wants to make friends with you. And in a way..." she suddenly paused, causing Riku to look at her in curiosity. 

A smile crept up her lips and she shook her head. "Never mind. I bet, though, you'd like to know what he wrote in that little note!" 

Riku's eyes widened in surprise. She had caught him. Of course he was wondering what the boy had written and what had caused Kairi to giggle like that. He wouldn't admit it, though and kept calm despite his inner excitement. 

Kairi only smiled knowingly and motioned him to come over to the wall instead of standing in the middle of the hallway. Riku obeyed and followed her. 'What in the world is she planning now? I knew I shouldn't get involved with people...' he thought to himself, feeling his stomach twist in anticipation. He couldn't even figure out why he was so anxious about this note, it probably wasn't anything important. But then why was Kairi telling him? 

"Here," the girl suddenly said, handing him a crumpled up paper. 

He raised his eyebrows and eyed it for a moment, then took it into his hands and unfolded it. 

He had to smile at once as he saw the handwriting of the other boy. It was neat and still looked natural and round unlike the handwritings of other boys, which looked like the work of brain-damaged apes. 

Then he began to read. There were only three lines. 

"You two aren't a couple, right? He doesn't seem to be one to have a girlfriend. But he's really gorgeous...do you think we could be friends someday?" 

Riku snorted as he read the note aloud. There it was again, someone just called gorgeous again. But it's been inevitable from the start and he knew it. 

"It would do you good to have a real friend," Kairi murmured, though it was more to herself than to him and she turned around. She turned and started walking but then stopped. She turned her head and smiled her usual smile. 

"I hope you see it someday. Sora's different...he wants to be your friend. But I guess you don't know the meaning of this word. Still, I ask you to stop flirting with him before he gets his hopes up." 

She turned back, ready to get out and home but she was stopped by Riku's answer. 

Riku snorted. "And what if I don't want to?" 

That surprised both him and Kairi. He blinked and cocked his head at his own answer. Didn't he always think he used his charm for the others? And now he didn't _want_ to stop flirting with Sora? 

Kairi shook her head with a smile and left. "Sorry, we'll talk tomorrow!" 

  
Riku was alone again. He sighed. Suddenly his eyes flickered to his watch. 

"Ah! I'm late!" 

Great, he thought. Now he'd wasted so much time just because of Kairi. It was just so typical of her, typical of girls. 

He heaved a long sigh in annoyance and rubbed his temples. 

He simply knew why he didn't want to get involved with anyone. They would just waste his time, precious time he had to invest in...studying and other things his parents forced him into. 

Ever since he was little he had been forced into stupid things like piano lessons, special sports training and private manner education. It seemed to him they wanted to make him into some kind of super-human like he wasn't good enough the way he was. 

"Errrm, Riku?" 

Riku jerked in surprise as was again startled out of his thoughts. This was the second time a day now but this time it wasn't Kairi. It was. 

"Sora?" He blinked seeing the new boy waving a hand in front of his eyes. 

"You forgot this," the brunet murmured, shoving a book into Riku's face. 

Riku yelped and stumbled back before he blinked and took the book. His maths book. How could he forget that? He had _ never _ forgot any of his books in his whole life. 

"Oh, thanks," he murmured, still caught a little off guard to see Sora here. 

The brunet smiled and nodded, then proceeded to walk away. Riku raised an eyebrow and finally managed to gather his wits. 

"Hey, Sora!" he called, quickly catching up with the boy to walk beside him. He saw Sora's blush and smirked; time for some fun. 

He slipped an arm around the other boy's waist as they walked and pulled him a little closer, leaning in to his ear. Sora's eyes widened immediately and he tried to pull away, though only half-heartedly. No one could resist Riku and he knew it. 

"How about we go somewhere? Like.an ice cream store?" 

He knew Sora wouldn't agree; he would probably just squeak something and run away with a red face; and that was good because Riku actually had no time. He had to get home, he had promised his parents. 

"Hmmm only if it's your treat!" 

Riku jumped in surprise and almost pulled his arm back as he saw Sora grinning adorably at him. Did this boy just _ answer_? He had expected him to faint or get another nosebleed but definitely _ not _ to answer like that. However, he could keep his cool this time and only smirked back at the younger boy. 

"You're sure full of surprises, Sora." 

He winked at him and saw his face turn beet-red. 

"Well, about the ice cream," he huskily murmured, fully aware of his irresistible voice, "Maybe next time." 

He smiled pulling away to see Sora's reaction. There wasn't much, though. Sora had melted into a puddle. Riku chuckled and decided to take it a little further. He'd never done that on the first day but with Sora it would be ok, he thought. 

Secretly taking out a piece of paper from his pocket, he leaned in and breathed right into Sora's ear, causing the younger boy to twitch. 

"Right now I'd rather...." He could feel Sora's heated cheek, seeing that the boy was near the edge of passing out, and so it went unnoticed as Riku slipped the little note into Sora's pocket. 

"...walk home. My parents are waiting." 

Riku pulled away quite suddenly, raising his hand to wave at Sora before he hurried out of the building. He was grinning in satisfactory. 

Sora was frozen in place for a while and simply stared at the disappearing figure. 

On his way out, Riku began to run because he was more than just late now. His parents would probably make a huge fuss about it and tell him about his duties as their son and so on and so forth. He sometimes wished he could be a normal boy with a normal family and have a normal life. It wasn't that he was ungrateful but he just didn't think he deserved all the attention. He wasn't perfect like everyone thought. Actually he thought he was quite stupid and ignorant. He didn't know much about the real world. All he knew was what he read or learned in school and what his parents told him. They had never let him go out with classmates or do casual things like they did. 

He sighed in exasperation There he was again, thinking about stupid stuff like that. It wasn't like his thoughts were going to change anything. And also, when he thought about it, he didn't want to be like the others. Even if he was lonely sometimes the way he lived, he also cherished this loneliness and wouldn't trade it for anything. He was considered an angel, a God even to some girls and that was good. 

Riku nodded to himself. He had other things to think about. Like what excuse he could use for being late. 

The image of Sora grinning at him suddenly flickered in his mind and he frowned, a little surprised at the intrusion. It wasn't like he was feeling anything for the boy, anything except for a little interest, maybe. That boy sure seemed interesting and the fact that he had already done the thing with the note surprised himself a little. He had never given anyone his phone number on the first day. And also, he never gave anyone his real phone number, just the number of his residence so one of the maids or butlers would pick up. However, this time he'd written his own number, the one of his room, and he didn't even know why. He'd written it in class and planned to give it to Sora sometime during the lesson but then it never happened. 

Riku shook his head. He noticed that he had stopped running because of his thoughts. Not good. He picked up his pace again and made his way home, trying not to think of anything anymore. 

And still, this Sora seemed to manage to occupy his mind for the rest of the day. 

- To be continued - 

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**Ending notes: ** Was that okay? Riku seems a tad, um, I dunno, cynical? lol. Mmm...I didn't want to make it that obvious at first, I mean that he's interested in Sora. But I guess it just happened... Well, they won't get together for a looooong time, I tell you that. I've planned to make them friends first...but even that will take a while.   
okay, please tell me what you think! Anything you want me to change or you like or whatever! Just tell me in your review ^^ 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Sorry to keep you waiting! But as a little comfort, this chapter is a lot longer than it was supposed to be.   
Maybe that's why it took so long to type ^^ ...or the fact that I've been too busy reading...  
anyway here's the third chapter...we also meet Sora's mother here! Neat, huh? 

um...ok.. hope you like it!

========= 

"Hmpf..." 

Sora let himself fall backwards on his bed, trying not to hit his head in the tiny space. Why in the world did he get bunk beds? It wasn't like he had siblings or friends who would sleep there. It only caused him to hit his head all the time because there was so little space. 

But that was probably just because the beds had been there ever since they moved in and his mother had no money to buy new ones. There wouldn't be any space anyway. His room was a closet, or so he thought. It must have been a closet before. There was barely room for the bed, which was standing against the wall on the right. There was only a narrow space between the bed and the desk, which was standing against the opposite wall. The distance couldn't be more than 3 feet. And as if the room weren't full enough there was also a dresser, small but still taking too much space. 

The door covered the bed half way when it was open. So every sane man would have kept the door close to get a little more space. However, keeping the door of such a small room shut was very unwise. Sora wasn't claustrophobic at all but it was impossible to spend too much time in this room with a closed door. 

Sora sighed as he looked at the small alarm clock on his desk. It was almost past 9 p.m. now. His mother still wasn't home although she promised to come back at 8 to bring some dinner. Through the small window he could see that it had started to rain. Sora smiled. He loved rain. For some reason he always wanted to run out into the cold rain. Maybe because his father had often taken him out into the rain when he was still alive. 

His thoughts suddenly fixed on that particular memory, when he was barely 4, a little kid. His father was carrying him on his shoulders, spinning around while the heavy rain descended on them. They had laughed and laughed and his mother had been calling for them to come in before they caught a cold. They had ignored it, of course, and kept spinning and running in the rain until his mother followed them, joining them in their fun. Sora loved to remember those things, those little happy moments of his childhood. Things were different now. 

His father was gone; his mother was working all the time, trying to pull them through. They didn't even have a laundry machine and Sora had to wash all his clothes with his hands. Not that he had many clothes. They were too poor to buy fancy clothes with brands and all. He never wore such things and he remembered being mocked by other children for it. Everything had changed. Sora felt a little sadness come over him but he promised himself not to cry because he didn't want to be ungrateful. He had a good life. At least his mother was still with him and she was the greatest mother one could ever get. And also, he had found people whom he liked, in his new school. 

Blushing slightly, Sora rolled over to his side as he thought of Riku. Riku, that perfect boy. He hadn't been able to think of anything but him for most of the afternoon. He even caught himself writing the boy's name on his desk like a lovesick schoolgirl. It was embarrassing he acted this way and he felt really stupid like this. He vowed to himself to get that under control because he wanted only one thing from Riku. He wanted to know him, to have him trust him so he could also trust Riku. He wanted someone to share his time, maybe. A friend. 

The sound of keys being flung across the shabby kitchen counter jerked Sora out of his thoughts. 

"Mom!" 

She was finally back! He heard her footsteps, light and soft as always even though she was weary of her work. She came home late and left early in the morning. He always wondered how she could work like this. 

He stormed out of his room into the living room to see his mother shake her hair like a puppy, drying her wet hair. The rain outside had come pouring down before she reached the safety of their home and of course she hadn't had an umbrella. He saw her cursing silently to herself, eyes weary and tired. 

However, as she saw Sora her expression immediately changed. She was suddenly smiling brightly, eyes glistening with the usual happiness and mischief she always had. Her hair looked natural, she never had to comb it. Brown like his, shoulder-length, curly when it was wet, making her look like a little girl. Actually she always looked like a little girl. Many people had asked Sora if she was his older sister. They were often thought to be orphan siblings and Sora had to smile at that. His mother looked as young as she acted. 

"Hey, hey, Sora! Guess what! I got us a fancy dinner tonight! You see, I've been working late tonight to earn some extra money since the people gave me great tips tonight!" She stretched and yawned, then walked over into the small kitchenette. 

"We've got peanuts and some curry powder. I think you know what this means!" She beamed at Sora and clapped her hands. 

Sora chuckled. Yes, this was what they called fancy dinner. A bowl of rice with a little curry sauce and peanuts. It was delicious all right but one might have thought of other things at the mention of 'fancy dinner'. Nonetheless, Sora was happy and his mother seemed to be it, too. 

They prepared their food together while his mother talked about her day. She had found another job, aside from the one as waitress. She would work day and night to get more money. 

"It's not like I work all the time, you know, so don't worry. I'll work from 6 a.m. till afternoon, then I'll come back and bring dinner. Of course I won't be there to eat with you because I'll have to leave at 7 p.m. to the other job. I'll come back at midnight, or maybe later. I know it sounds like a lot of work but I'll make it!" She made the victory sign with her hand, grinning cheekily at Sora to emphasize her words. 

Sora only nodded and smiled. Once she set her mind on something she wouldn't let it go. 

They ate in silence then and Sora wondered if he should tell her about his day. She hadn't asked yet, normally she would ask. She seemed too busy devouring the food to really think of anything to say. 

Eventually, however, she looked up from the feast. 

"So, got a girlfriend yet?" 

Sora nearly choked on the rice as he heard that question. He coughed and tried to clear his throat while his mother laughed. 

"Now, now, don't be so surprised. I'm sure the girls are swooning over you! You're such a handsome boy," she cooed, smiling very affectionately, very motherly at him. 

Sora shook his head to say 'not really' and his mind came to rest on Riku again. The girls were swooning over Riku! Not over someone like him. He had seen the uninterested glances they threw at him before going back to staring at Riku in awe. 

"Riku..." 

He hadn't really meant to say it but it slipped and although it was only quietly, his mother heard it. 

"Riku?" She smiled knowingly, although she didn't know. She didn't know that Riku was not a girl but a boy of whom Sora was jealous yet got really interested in. It was such a weird feeling he had but he was sure of one thing: Riku wouldn't leave his mind. 

Dropping his hands into his lap, Sora stared at the food in front of him. He sighed, pouting unconsciously and dug his right hand into his pocket. He often did that when he thought, it was habit he had picked up from his father. 

He suddenly raised his eyebrows at the feeling of something brushing against his fingers. It felt like a piece of paper. He frowned and pulled it out to see a little folded sheet in his hand. When had that come in there? He remembered exchanging those little notes and messages with Kairi and a few with Riku during the lessons but he hadn't put them into his pocket, had he? He unfolded it, completely unaware of the fact that his mother had gotten up and was standing behind him, curiously looking over his shoulder to see what the note contained. 

There were a few numbers on the paper. In fact, it seemed to be a phone number. 

"Interesting......" 

Sora jumped at the voice and snapped his head back to see his mother behind him. 

"Lemme see." While Sora was scowling at her for surprising him like that, his mother quickly took the number out of his hand and inspected it. 

"Very neat handwriting, yup. Doesn't seem to be a girl's, though. It would have been easier if there were an actual sentence written because you can see the character of the person through the handwriting of letters. Numbers are okay, too, though. Hmmm let me think... this person's got to be really unsure of themselves. Probably seems totally confident to others but in reality it's the opposite. And…and…" she paused to look closer, then glanced at Sora and then back. 

"This person must like you a lot." 

She grinned and patted Sora's head in pride. 

"I told you you're handsome! And even if it's not a girl, all the better it's a boy! I mean, every boy can find at least one girl that likes him. But to have a boy to like you, that's an honour!" 

There she was being stupid again, Sora thought. Not that he minded, though. She was only trying to be nice but she seemed to have her weird phases when she would ramble about strange stuff... he didn't even want to know what it was about. 

But what did she say? Not a girl? Then it wasn't Kairi's number? He had just decided to believe it was Kairi who wanted to give him her number and forgot or it accidentally slipped into his pocket as she tried to give it to him. Something like that, he thought. 

But his mother said it wasn't a girl? The only one who had given him those little papers was Riku. But Riku? 

'No way...' Sora thought. It couldn't be, because Riku wasn't interested in him. Not enough to give him his phone number, right? He had heard from Kairi that he flirted with everyone just for the sake of it. He wasn't really feeling anything for anyone, just playing with them. 

Sora understood. Riku probably never had friends due to his whole attire. He was like some superior being so maybe the other people never saw him as one of them. It angered Sora somewhat as he thought of it. Both the fact that no one cared to know the real Riku and the fact that Riku played around with other people's feelings. He even played with Sora's. 

He suddenly bit his lip, remembering their meeting after school when Riku had been overly seductive. It was simply impossible not to melt when he acted like that. He then remembered something else. Riku had been very close to him, so close that he could feel his breath against his cheeks but that was beside the point. Riku had been close enough to slip a note into his pocket without him ever noticing! It could have been him, after all. 

Meanwhile Sora's mother gone back to eating and eventually finished, washing up everything. Sora still sat at the table, not moving. Why in the world would Riku give him that little note? And was it really his phone number? Or maybe it was just some kind of joke, something he played, did with everyone. 

Sora felt unusually anxious. That didn't stop him, however, from getting up to walk to the phone, dialling the number as it was written on the paper. He could hear his heartbeat; it was louder than the ringing sound he heard on the phone. One, two, three, four...no one picked up. He waited. Five, six, seven, eight. His heart stopped for a moment as he heard a clicking sound. 

He held his breath without realizing that he did so. 

His mother sat down on the couch in the living room, which was still very close to the phone on the wall next to the door. Their flat wasn't really big. The front door led into the living room, which contained a small kitchenette and 3 doors, one on each side of the room. The living room plus the small kitchen wasn't big, maybe 25m² at the most. The 3 doors lead into three rooms. One was Sora's room; the other one was his mother's room. Both really small, almost like closets. The third door led to the bathroom. So even as Sora's mother practically sat on the other side of the apartment, she could still hear her son talking on the phone. 

A voice spoke on the other side of the line. Sora's breath hitched. 

"Hello?" 

It was _ his _ voice. Sora didn't know how to speak. Honestly, he had forgotten how to do it. He opened his mouth because he remembered it had something to do with it, but he couldn't remember what else he was supposed to be doing. 

"Who's this?" the voice asked, sounding a little annoyed although Riku wasn't because he'd been the one to give Sora his number in the first place. 

Finally, Sora seemed to remember the wonder of talking and he did. Or rather, he tried. 

"Sss...a-aa..." 

He winced. He shook his head and took a deep breath. Second try. 

"It's...So--Sora." 

Immediately, the tone changed and it seemed Riku was smiling although Sora wouldn't know just through the phone. 

"Hey! I was starting to wonder when you'd call!" 

Sora flushed and glanced at his mother sitting there on the couch, watching him in interest as though she was watching a movie. Well, this was probably the only thing she could do considering that they didn't have a TV to watch anything. 

"I...uh..." The boy tried to steady his breathing and mind, wondering what he should say. Why had he called? He shouldn't have done it, he thought. He had nothing to say, or had he? But then again, it was Riku who had called. Not really, but he was the one who gave him the number. Ah, the number, Sora remembered. 

"I found the number." 

Well, duh. Sora smacked his forehead. How stupid could he get? And it was all because of this Riku. He hated him already. And then he didn't. 

Riku chuckled and it sounded so sweet and sincere, a little unfamiliar Sora noted. He had heard him laugh today but it hadn't sounded like that. Or maybe it was just the phone that made it sound different. Sora didn't know... 

"Well I guess you did," the boy on the other line answered. 

Sora sighed as there was silence between them. He thought of how to say what he wanted to say. He just wanted to know why Riku had given him his number. Like that. 

"Why do I have your number?" 

He immediately regretted it. Why would he always say something stupid instead of what he was thinking? It seemed the words got mixed up in his head before they left his mouth. 

Riku laughed. "I think it's because I gave it to you?" 

Sora felt so humiliated but he also felt like laughing. And he did. 

"I'm sorry... I meant...I meant...why did you give me your number!" Finally it came out right! 

Riku stopped laughing and suddenly it was completely quiet. Sora almost thought he had said something wrong and bit his lip. He turned to look at his mother, who was still watching him with interest, trying to understand the conversation without hearing Riku's part. It wasn't hard. But Riku wasn't talking anymore. He wasn't even laughing or chuckling. But he was still there because Sora heard him breathe into the receiver. He cleared his throat, then and Sora awaited a response. 

"I..." 

Sora felt confused. Riku seemed like he was struggling to say something but he hadn't seemed like a person who would have such problems. The entire day Riku was being so full of himself and he had the right to it, of course, he was considered a God among the people at school. But he really hadn't seemed to be shy or speechless like now. 

"Actually..." he was still struggling for words, it seemed. Sora waited. 

"The thing is I wanted...I mean...I just..." 

Sora took another glance at his mother and saw that she was mouthing something. 

'Insecure' she seemed to whisper. But it could have meant anything because, really, Sora wasn't a very good lip-reader. 

"I just wanted to hear your voice." 

The blood shot into his face and Sora was sure he was as read as a tomato as he heard the final answer. The way he had just said it... His mother must have thought there had just been a love confession or something. 

His lips were suddenly dry and he licked them absently, trying to think of something to say. 

"Oh..." Was his only response. Then there was silence again and Riku didn't seem to know what to say. 

Sora considered hanging up but that would have been rude. He should at least tell Riku he was going to do that but then he didn't know how. 

After a while, Riku spoke again and Sora was relieved. 

"Say something." 

Okay, he wasn't. 

"What do you want me to say?" What was with that boy? Riku seemed totally different on the phone and it was sure confusing. Sora didn't know what to say or do. 

He heard Riku sigh. "I don't know...something...anything..." He obviously didn't know what to say either. 

"Well my mom's home and she's watching me talk like it's a movie...the only thing she's missing is pop-corn." Sora didn't really know why he had said that but it seemed to have worked because Riku chuckled. Sora smiled at the sound. He wanted to say more but he didn't know what. 

Then Riku cleared his throat. "Um, I have to hang up for now because my father's calling. But I...want to ask you something." 

Sora felt his heart leap into his throat. What was Riku going to ask? "Sure," he answered, trying to sound casual. What in the world was he going to ask? 

"Want me to pick you up in the morning? I mean...so we go to school together." 

Heart attack. Sora heard his mother laugh at his antics, after all he was clamping his hand over his mouth and jumping up and down with wide eyes. 

Then it occurred to him. He forced himself to calm down, enough to talk into the receiver again. 

"But you don't know where I live." 

Another time of silence. Was Riku just being calm and superior or was he embarrassed that he hadn't thought about this? 

"If you tell me, I'll know." 

Sora couldn't help but smile. "Okay...I guess. You know the playground next to our school?" 

"Yeah." 

"If you follow the road there you'll come to a convenience store." 

Riku nodded. "Yeah I know that one." 

Sora smiled. "Good, next to the store there's a row of small houses. The second one is ours. Don't be surprised at the size...it _ is _ a small apartment house, not a dog house." 

Riku smiled at this and Sora could feel it somehow. 

"Okay then, I know where it is. I've even passed there a few times before. I'll pick you up at...um...7:30?" 

Sora sweatdropped. That early? But oh well, might as well, he thought. He had to get used to it that his school wasn't just around the corner. Not like his old school. 

"Yeah, okay." 

He nodded and gave a sigh of relief, happy that they had managed to talk about something without him stuttering around like an idiot. 

For a while they were both silent again. It seemed a waste of money to let them stand there on the phone without talking at all. 

"Well I guess I'll hang up now," Riku eventually said. 

Sora agreed and readied himself. However, he found himself waiting for Riku to hang up first. He waited. And waited. And waited. 

"You haven't hung up," Riku suddenly stated, sounding a little confused. 

Sora pouted. "You haven't either. I'm waiting for you to hang up first." 

Riku was silent, thinking over it. "But I'm waiting for you to hang up." 

They both frowned. What now? Neither of them wanted to hang up and yet they had to. 

"I count till three and then we hang up." Riku suggested. 

Sora agreed but only before Riku counted to two, Sora stopped him. 

"Wait! Do we count one, two and hang up at three or do we count one, two, three and then hang up?" 

He heard his mother laugh again and turned to her with an annoyed look. She was covering her mouth, trying to look serious but he saw that she was laughing. 

Riku sighed. "One, two, three and we hang up, ok?" 

Sora nodded. They both counted, simultaneously. 

"One..." 

"Two..." 

"Three—" 

Just as Sora was about to put the receiver back he heard Riku. 

"Sora--!" 

But it was too late, he had hung up before he could hear the rest of it. He frowned, wondering what he had wanted to say...but then again, it couldn't have been that important, right? Maybe he would just ask him about it tomorrow, when he came to pick him up. 

He turned to his mother who stared at him with a grin. Sora sighed. She was going to make fun of him for the rest of the night because of that phone call if he didn't go to sleep immediately. 

"Night." He turned and walked into the bathroom. 

~~~~ 

Riku stood in his room, with the receiver still in his hand. 

"I really like you, Sora..." he whispered, touching his lips in wonder after he did that. He put the receiver back and stared at the wall in front of him. What was going on with him? What was going on _ in _ him? He was glad Sora had hung up before he said something. He couldn't risk getting stupid in his presence. He had already made a fool of himself with this phone call. Telling him that he just wanted to hear his voice! How stupid could he be? Asking him if he could pick him up in the morning! Why was he acting so strangely? 

'I really like you...' He frowned, then scowled. What was this Sora doing to him? 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** That was sure long. But I just couldn't find a good end for this chapter earlier.   
So....what do you think? Ok, not much happened in this chapter but we got a little view into Sora's home, right? Because some of you suggested it. Are they too poor? Like is it kind of unbelieveable? I hope I did ok... I think there _ are _ people as poor as them. I know there are poorer people but I didn't want to make them seem like beggars or something. Just kind of broke at the moment.   
And I wanted to mention that Sora had a happy childhood. A happy family. Oh yeah what do you think of his mother? She'll get a name eventually I think.   
But is she all right? Not that she's important because this story will focus on Sora and Riku but I still want to make her nice to read.   
Errr...ok...I rambled a lot today, didn't I?  
Tell me how you like this chapter and the story and the characters and everything! If you think it sucks, tell me so I can improve it!  
Ok, thanks. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Being locked in a hotel with nothing but mountains around you sucks. Yup.   
But out of frustration I still managed to write this! Ain't I great? Read now and have fun! 

========= 

The next morning Riku awoke two hours before his alarm went off. He usually woke half an hour before the alarm; he had some kind of internal clock. This time, however, it was still dark and he was already wide-awake, too awake for his taste. He stared at the darkness in the room and noticed that the sun was coming up slowly, lightening the room little by little. He sat up and pushed away the covers. It was warm today and Riku crawled out of his bed, and he crawled for a while because the bed was so very big, he thought he'd never reach the edge. When he finally did reach the edge he got up and walked towards the French windows that lead to the balcony. He opened them and went out, still wearing his pyjamas. 

The morning breeze stroked against him and he shuddered at the sudden cold. So it wasn't that warm today; it was probably just his well-heated room. 

He went back and made for his closet to find something to wear. As he opened the big mahogany doors he stared at the wardrobe. This closet could have been a hidden room if it weren't for the clothes. Take out the clothes, put in a bed and a desk and you've got a room for another person, Riku thought. 

But then again, what person? 

Riku sighed, taking out the next best thing to dress himself. When he was younger he had maids and butlers dress him which he found really embarrassing back then. Two years ago he had a big fight with his parents, yelling at them to give him some privacy and it had worked. At least a little. He was allowed to dress himself nowadays. 

He was finished and ready to go way too early. It wasn't even 6 o'clock yet. He went around in his room and it was like walking through a city doing sight seeing. The room was full of furniture, arcade machines, game stations, his piano (which he hated), a billiard table, a strange statue of something that was considered a masterpiece of art and a lot of other crap. He didn't really care for all these things. But then again, he was caged in here for a long time; the only time he got out was to go to school or when he had some excuse like buying new clothes. The rest of his life was spent here in this room. He could have used the whole residence but he preferred his own little palace because it gave him a slightly safer feeling. So all the things in his room did have a purpose. They kept him from being bored. 

Riku sat down on the piano stool. He hated his piano because it was just another thing his parents had forced him into. He couldn't understand why he had to learn all these things. Why couldn't he just be like everybody else and have friends? 

Immediately he regretted this thought because the image of Sora was glued to his mind again. No matter what he did, he would always come back and haunt him. Riku felt like screaming. Why was he behaving like this? It had never happened before. Riku almost doubted his ability to flirt a little with him because of his own strange feelings. 

This Sora, Riku thought, was definitely someone to keep an eye on. He had to be careful around him because this boy seemed to be able to turn Riku's mind upside down. And that was _ not _ good. 

~~~~ 

Riku was now standing in front of the second house in the row. He was surprised at first at the size but then he remembered Sora saying that it was indeed very small. He shrugged and looked at his watch. 7:30 sharp. He'd never been late except for home. 

Sora wasn't there yet and he couldn't hear any noise coming from the inside. Was that the wrong apartment? Or had Sora left without him? 

Riku felt a knot forming in his stomach and he bit his lip in worry. What if Sora forgot and left without him and now he was standing here, making a total fool of himself? Again! He thought. Again this stupid boy had managed to make him act like that! He must have been a magician or something, Riku fumed. He was almost about to walk away, turning around with stomping feet as he heard a scream from the inside. 

"OVERSLEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPT!!!" 

It was loud enough to be heard on the other side of town. 

He blinked, hearing stomping and cursing inside the house and before he knew what was happening, a boy came storming through the front door, half in his pyjamas with a slice of toast in his mouth. 

"Wiku! Waifk!" 

Riku smirked and Sora blinked, then pulled the toast out of his mouth. 

"I meant, Riku, wait," he corrected himself, quickly running back into the house to dress properly. 

Riku couldn't help laughing at this, he really couldn't stop anymore even as Sora came out a few minutes later, perfectly dressed and ready for school. He laughed, holding his stomach as he felt he wouldn't last standing there. 

Sora pouted and crossed his arms, feeling humiliated once again. Oh how he hated Riku for showing up so early! But then again they'd agreed on that time, so it wasn't his fault. Sora sighed and waited for Riku to calm down. He did notice how sweet Riku was when he laughed, genuinely laughed. 

Eventually the laughter died down and the silver haired boy caught himself. 

"Sorry..." he muttered, laughter still threatening to come. 

Sora threw him a fake glare and refused to say anything to him. However, this changed immediately as Riku shook his head in an apologetic way and extended his hand. 

"Let's go now." 

Sora looked at the hand being offered and eyed it suspiciously. Riku was planning something, wasn't he? It must have been another flirt attack! And Sora had told himself to get this whole 'turning into a puddle' thing under control. He hesitated before taking it but as he did he was surprised that nothing really happened. He was just...holding his hand. 

And they began to walk, side by side, holding hands. Sora blushed as he wondered if they were supposed to be doing that. He glanced sideways, feeling a strange sensation course through his hand. It felt warm and there was an unusual tingling. Despite the confusion he felt he smiled, wishing for this moment to last forever. 

Riku cleared his throat and turned to face Sora, giving him a rather strange look. It seemed he was kind of smiling, too, just like Sora but he also had a faint blush on his cheeks and Sora noted how adorably young and innocent he suddenly looked. Yes, that was it. He looked _ innocent _despite his Mr Perfect act and Sora found he liked this a lot. The blush seemed to get more intense but it could have been the sun hitting the silver haired boy's face, Sora wasn't sure. 

He slowly felt the tension in him die away and for the first time he felt equal to the other boy, maybe even a little superior because he knew that Riku wasn't the perfect golden boy he claimed to be. Sora was able to make him blush! Riku turned his head back to face the street as they continued to walk, shyly avoiding Sora's eyes and Sora knew exactly what it meant. A big grin of victory covered his face as a wicked thought crossed his mind. Somehow he wanted to pay Riku back for giving him a nosebleed and several heart attacks the day before. Maybe he could turn the tables. 

"I'm really glad you came to pick me up," he cheerfully said, squeezing the other boy's hand to emphasize the meaning. 

He felt Riku tense for a second before the boy turned his eyes to him. They seemed clouded in a way and he even looked a little puzzled, just as though Sora had ripped him out of his thoughts. 

He was just about to say something, opening his mouth halfway as there was suddenly a row of giggles and squeals. 

Sora blinked and turned his head away from Riku to face forward. They had already reached the school and the giggling and squealing was coming from a group of girls holding a lot of stuff in their arms. 

"I'm going to give him my present first! I heard he likes chains with pendants! And they really fit him, too!" 

"Really?? Well, I don't know about the pendants but I've heard he likes books! Figures, since he's so good at school and really smart!" 

Then there were other girls and the group started daydreaming and gossiping about their favourite subject: Riku. 

Sora rolled his eyes and turned back to Riku. However, he felt something like a sting in his chest as he saw Riku's expression. 

'No...He's back...' Sora sourly thought, seeing that Riku had turned into the boy he'd been the day before. Perfect and so damn full of himself that Sora wanted to vomit. He was jealous of him when he was like that and the fact that he played around with the girls and only fooled them was making him angry. He wondered why Riku had seemed so different on the phone and just before, when they'd been alone. He had almost seemed like a normal person then. Split personality maybe? 

Sora winced as he felt Riku letting go of his hand. The horde of fangirls immediately came screaming and drooling, blabbing their idiotic talk about how much they loved Riku and what they would do for him. Sora snorted. 

Riku, however, smiled and nodded to everyone, accepting their gifts with such a fake politeness, Sora wondered how stupid those girls were. He watched as Riku gracefully avoided every possible physical contact with any of the girls without having them really notice it. It was really funny at one point, when this girl tried to hug him and he simply stepped away, causing her to fall to the ground. She didn't even notice. 

Sora shook his head and walked ahead, leaving Riku in the mass of screeching monsters. 'Yeah, deal with your fans, Mr Perfect...' he thought as he made his way to the classroom. He didn't really know where this feeling was coming from, and at first he had thought it was the jealousy that all the girls liked Riku, but he eventually realized that he was being jealous of the girls. Riku had seemed so nice back then but as soon as they reached the school he was...Sora didn't know how to describe him. No other word but _ perfect _ came to his mind. He was irresistible and seductive and still so aloof - probably the things girls loved. 

But Sora wasn't a girl and no matter how seductive this perfect boy was, Sora liked the shy Riku much better! The one he'd heard on the phone; the one who had blushed as they walked while holding hands. Where had this boy gone? Split personality, Sora thought again. He couldn't believe he'd fallen for a psychopath. But then again, he was a really sweet psychopath. 

"Who peed in your cereal?" A voice next to him suddenly asked as he scowled at his thoughts. 

Sora turned his head and saw Kairi questioning him with her bright eyes. She always looked kind but still curious and mischievous. He was actually glad to see her. 

"Morning, Kairi," he greeted her, trying to sound happy but failed miserably as he saw Riku strolling in, still followed by his fans. The classroom suddenly got a lot louder and Sora couldn't hear his own voice anymore. Kairi gestured him to come to the window and they sat down on the sill, farther away from the chaos caused by their super student. 

"So, what's up with you?" 

Sora glared as Kairi asked that but he wasn't glaring at her. He was glaring at the spectacle before him, seeing how Riku smiled at the girls and patted their heads. He glared as he saw the girls melt and shriek about Riku having touched them. 

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and winced. 

"It's him, huh? So you've already reached this stage? Well, either you throw yourself into the competition with these idiot girls or you accept the fact that...." She paused, frowning slightly before she continued. Sora turned his eyes to her, waiting for the rest. Either competition or what? 

Kairi smiled sadly, shaking her head. "Or you accept the fact that he will never give in to anyone. I accepted it because I didn't want to be one of those girls. He hates them. Riku is...a very difficult person." 

Sora snorted and rolled his eyes. Kairi gave him a slightly bemused look and twiddled her thumbs in her lap. 

"More like a psycho, Kairi," he answered her, crossing his arms. Kairi laughed right out but then stopped, smiling in wonder. No one had ever said that about Riku. Everyone only revelled about how perfect and beautiful and sexy he was. No one ever dared to call him psycho. 

"You know, he should consider getting serious help. Really. He's got a split personality! He's a maniac! We must lock him up or something..." Sora was joking, Kairi knew, but the fact that he could joke like that was amazing. Not even she had been able to say anything bad about Riku or joke about him like that. 

"How come you think this?" She eventually asked, eyes wandering off to Riku who was still dealing with his fans. 

Sora did the same, gaze travelling over to the mass of idiots. He sighed, wondering if he should tell her about the phone call and this morning. He felt like he could trust her but then again it would be slightly embarrassing to tell anyone about this. It had been bad enough to have his mother listen to their conversation. Thankfully she hadn't been there in the morning. 

"Why do you think he's got a split personality?" Kairi prodded in honest wonder. She didn't seem to know about this 180° change. The brunet sighed and began to tell her about the things that happened, about this other Riku he had come to know. He told her what he felt about this and how he wished for this to stay. But every time the girls were around Riku was completely different. He ended as the bell rang and the teacher entered the room. 

Riku was finally allowed to go to his seat and the girls were forced to stop swooning over him. 

He sat down next to Sora, expecting the other boy to say something to him but he was surprised as Sora turned away, staring straight forward to pay attention to the teacher. Riku frowned and tried to tap Sora's shoulder but found that he was being ignored. His eyes widened and he turned to Kairi with a panicked look but the girl simply shrugged, as if to say 'it's your own fault'. 

Riku's heart sank. What had he done wrong? Why was Sora ignoring him now? He bit his lip, unable to follow the lesson as his mind kept pondering over what to do. If Sora only looked at him, it would have been enough. He just wanted to be acknowledged if there couldn't be anything else. 

"Sora..." he whispered to himself, not noticing as the brunet turned to him with a small smile. 

"What are you beating yourself for?" the boy whispered as he leaned over to Riku. 

Riku jumped in surprise and stared in confusion as he saw Sora smiling at him. What the hell was wrong with that boy? Wasn't he just totally ignoring him because of something Riku must have done (though he had no idea what this something was)? And suddenly he was smiling at him again? Either this was a really weird joke or this boy had serious problems. Split personality, maybe? 

Riku shook himself out of his thoughts and ran a hand through his hair. 

"Why were you ignoring me?" he eventually asked, keeping his voice low to remain unnoticed by the teacher. 

Sora shrugged, attempting to turn back but Riku caught his arm, a little too forceful maybe because the boy winced. 

"Sorry..." Riku quickly muttered, letting go. Sora looked at him and Riku felt his heart leap into his throat. Those bright blue eyes were haunting him. Whenever Sora looked at him with those eyes he felt like he was under a spell and he couldn't move. He wondered what Sora was doing to him and he cursed his inability to read his mind. He would have given everything just to know what the other boy was thinking. 

Little did he know that Sora thought the same. 

So they both just stared at each other in silence. 

Suddenly someone cleared their throat and Sora and Riku turned their heads to see the teacher standing before them. 

"Is there a problem?" The man asked. It was their history teacher, a middle aged man with big glasses, making him look kind of ridiculous. 

Riku seemed to switch to his other personality and gave an apologetic smile. 

"Nothing, sir. I'm sorry to have caught your attention." 

The teacher nodded and turned to Sora. The boy tensed and looked back and forth between Riku and the man. 

"Err...ditto." 

The man chuckled at that and shook his head, turning back to the lesson. 

Sora gave a sigh of relief and Riku couldn't help smiling as he felt his heart warm. He couldn't believe his train of thought as he watched Sora settle back into his chair to follow the lesson. He couldn't believe that he was thinking of hugging the boy because he wondered if he was as soft as he looked. Sora looked extremely cuddly, he realized. He was begging to be hugged and he probably didn't notice. Riku couldn't quite believe himself as he began to wonder what it would be like to be close to this boy, really close. He suddenly thought of something else and dug into his pocket to make sure he had money with him. He mentally nodded and then wrote a little message for Sora, giving him the crumpled up paper. 

He watched in anticipation as Sora read the note. The boy smiled and turned to him, nodding in agreement. He then scribbled something in reply and passed it to Riku. 

As the silver haired boy read it, he chuckled. 

     _ Want to go for an ice cream after school? _  
_     Your treat! 
_

He nodded and winked at the boy, who was suddenly smiling so brightly that it seemed to lighten the room. He didn't wonder anymore how Sora managed to be different from the rest. He didn't wonder anymore how Sora was able to make his knees feel so wobbly at times. He simply knew that having met Sora was the best thing that could have happened to him. 

- To be continued - 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Ahh finally I got over this! Now the real fun begins, I swear! I hope I'm not rushing things, I'm really really trying to take it slowly but I'm so impatient! I could hardly write this chapter without thinking about all the fluffy stuff I wanna write! hehe  
Split personalities...both of them ^^ Hmm ok, review again, ne? I'll update as soon as I can! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Sorry for taking so long. Busy. Uninspired. Unmotivated. Tired. But since today's Valentines Day, I had to update at least one of my stories..even if I had a complete writer's block... too bad it's not Strawberry Bubbles. It really needs an update... *mumblemumble*

But this is just as good! We've get some ice cream fun...and naughty boys *bg* ok...not as naughty as one might wish for but...you'll see. reeeead ^^

========= 

Sora could hardly wait for his classes to end as he chewed on his bottom lip in excitement. It was already the last of his lessons for the day and he impatiently watched the hands of the clock. Only five more minutes. He sighed, glaring slightly at his surroundings. He began to tap his pencil on the desk, unable to stay still even though the teacher was already giving him looks. Sora ignored them and wondered what the silver haired angel was doing right now. If Sora remembered correctly, Riku was having maths or something now. Too bad they weren't in the same class. 

The boy slumped forward and let his head fall onto the desk. These minutes were sure the longest five minutes he'd ever experienced. All the time he had been together with Riku, learning all things about this school since it was only his second day. Riku had seemingly decided to instruct him about everything and anything in this school, showing him even the pettiest things. They had spent every moment together until now and Sora smiled at this thought. It seemed to him that Riku was trying everything just to have them stay together. Of course he couldn't be sure because it might have been just another role he was playing but why in the world would Riku insist on showing him the windows in every room he could find even though they were just normal windows and all the same? To Sora, it looked like a desperate attempt to keep him close. And Sora found that rather cute even though Riku tended to turn into that charming monster whenever they met someone, aside from Kairi. He idly wondered how Riku would behave when they were at the ice cream store. 

"That's all for today. You may pack up your things now." 

The bell rang and the students began to ready themselves to go home. 

Sora was the first to stand up and he bolted out of the classroom, leaving the puzzled teacher behind. He dashed through the now (thanks to Riku) familiar halls and made for the exit, practically jumping through the open door. They had agreed to meet outside at the gates so that's what Sora did. He ran through the crowd, ignoring the fact that at least a hundred other students were making their way out, too, pushing and shoving around as they all tried to reach the gates. He ran as fast as he could and eventually stumbled through the gates, not seeing that he was stumbling right into someone. 

And this someone just happened to be Riku. 

"Hey, that was fast." 

Sora looked up and for a moment he was breathless. Luckily he managed to get himself under control and straightened himself, unaware of the fact that he was supporting himself on Riku's arms. He only realized it when Riku started to walk, swiftly moving his hands to catch his wrist so he could pull him along. 

Sora blushed again, cursing himself for being so girly around Riku but it was simply impossible not to feel something around this boy. 'Gotta stop acting like that…' he told himself and tried to focus on the way. They walked down the street and Sora thought he knew where they were going. There was this new café where they had various desserts and also ice cream of course. However, this café was extremely expensive and Sora would never ever have enough money to get in there; hell, he didn't even have enough money to get a regular Popsicle. But it was Riku's treat and that meant Sora would use this opportunity as well as possible. Probably not the politest way but who cared! It had been Riku's idea anyway. 

Riku suddenly cleared his throat as if he was going to say something and Sora turned to him in curiosity. He couldn't wait for the silver haired boy talk, wondering how he would behave now. He seemed to be quiet and shy as far as Sora could see now. When Riku saw Sora looking at him, he quickly looked away, clearing his throat again. Sora smiled. 

"So…how was your day?" he finally asked, casting a short glance at the younger boy before turning to face forward, focusing on walking. 

Sora had to chuckle and shrugged his shoulders. "Well my day was fine and I think you know that since we were together all the time. Except for the last class…" he trailed off, remembering how impatient he had been, wanting to see Riku again. He sighed and then pointed at the café on the other side of the street. 

"Are we going in there?" he asked, unable to hide his excitement. 

Riku smiled and the nodded, turning a lot more confident as he did so. He motioned Sora to follow him, for he had let go of his hand some time ago. They went over and Sora was immediately glued to the menu hanging on the outside. 

"Yay! I've never been here before! Look, they even got Kiwi ice cream!" 

Riku nodded and proceeded to walk in. 

"Not that I actually _ like _ Kiwi ice cream…" Sora added, grimacing slightly at the flavour. He liked chocolate much better. He followed the silver haired boy and they sat down at a table, looking at the menu cards. 

Sora was so excited that he couldn't stay still and almost bounced around on the seat like a little boy. He never got to eat ice cream, not since his father died anyway. He remembered that they had ice cream when he was little and that it was his favourite food but now that they had to use their money as sparingly as possible, Sora never got to enjoy any kind of dessert or sweets. 

He smiled as he saw the picture of a king sized bowl full of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and a strawberry on top. 

"I want that!" 

Riku looked at the picture and raised an eyebrow. "You sure you can eat that much?" He seemed to be a little worried but Sora just nodded his head vigorously. 

"Sure, sure! I love chocolate ice cream!" 

Riku shrugged and smiled, nodding his head as the waitress came. 

"What can I bring you?" She smiled sweetly and blushed as she saw Riku. His charm was working again but Sora was too happy and excited to care. 

"One chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and that strawberry…and for me…" Riku paused, looking over the menu again. 

Sora couldn't help but wonder what Riku would choose. And it came to him like a flash of genius. 

"Vanilla," he said, blinking as he voiced his thoughts. He hadn't meant to speak for Riku and hoped he wasn't upset or angry about it. Turning to Riku, though, he saw that the silver haired boy was genuinely surprised and for a second he seemed speechless. Then he blinked and nodded, looking at Sora in a strange way. 

"Right…" he absently told the waitress. "Vanilla for me." 

Sora grinned. Lucky guess, he supposed but it was still funny how it had been right. 

The waitress gave a sigh and did her best to sound sympathetic as she informed the boys of the bad news. 

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry but we're out of chocolate today. Can I bring you something else? We have a lot of other flavours and they're all delicious! How about strawberry? Or are you more of a blueberry type?" The waitress went on about all different kinds of flavours and Riku rolled his eyes, lifting his hand to gesture Sora to come closer. The boy leaned over the table to listen to what Riku had to say. 

"Sorry about the chocolate thing but I tell you something. We take this one." He pointed at a picture. It was vanilla ice cream, all right. But it had chocolate syrup and whipped cream. 

"I know it's not the same but at least it's chocolate, what do you say?" 

Sora nearly drooled at the sight of the picture and nodded eagerly, causing Riku to smile. 

"…so there's also frozen desserts with fruit and nuts and.." The waitress was still talking. 

Riku cleared his throat to make her stop. Instantly, she was enchanted by his eyes and stared dreamily at him. 

"Have you decided?" she asked, losing herself in the boy's aqua eyes. 

Riku nodded. "Scratch the vanilla for me. We take that one," he pointed at the menu. 

The waitress lifted her eyebrows and then smiled brightly, nodding in approval. 

"Oh, I see! Well, that is a very good choice! One 'Vanilla-Love-Dream' for the boys, all right!" 

Sora's eyes nearly fell out of the sockets as he read the description above the picture. 

"Share with your lover on a hot, sunny day. Vanilla-Love-Dream, makes your secret desires come true." 

Sora gulped. He slowly turned his eyes to Riku and felt like burning up right here and there. Had he done that on purpose?! He felt like he had! Riku was grinning kind of smugly but he also looked so sexy with that smirk on his face and Sora wanted the earth to open up and swallow him. Here he was again with this split personality! He thought Riku was actually being shy and sweet but he was wrong! He had tricked him and just started another attack to make him turn into a puddle. Sora fumed. 

However, the waitress came dancing towards them with their Vanilla-Love-Dream and blew Riku a kiss before placing the dessert on the table. The boy shrugged it off and took the spoon, gesturing Sora to do the same. 

At first Sora didn't react, still thinking about how evil Riku was and how much he hated him and how much he still liked him but then he finally realized that his ice cream had arrived and there was a good amount of chocolate syrup, his favourite type, so he forgot all his worries and started digging into the ice cream. 

After a few spoons he sighed happily and smiled gratefully at Riku. 

"That's the best ice cream I ever had!" 

Riku didn't smile this time but seemed to stare at Sora for some reason. He was somehow staring at his mouth and Sora felt a little uneasy and nervous all of the sudden. Was something on his face? Maybe he had some of the syrup on his chin and didn't notice? He sure as hell didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Riku. Not any more than he already had. 

But Riku wasn't staring at anything unusual, just at the way Sora had devoured the ice cream. And then he seemed to wake from his trance and frowned. 

"You're eating it the wrong way," he murmured, cocking his head to the side as he took a spoon full of the dessert. 

Sora raised his eyebrows and then frowned, wondering what Riku meant. So Mr Perfect knew better how to eat ice cream? Ha! Ridiculous. Sora was really curious about what he had to say, though. 

Riku seemed contemplative and hesitated before he lifted the spoon. Before it went to his mouth, however, he pushed it towards Sora and the sweet cream met his lips, causing Sora to open his mouth automatically. Riku fed him and chuckled. 

"It said you have to share it and I think that's the way it's meant." 

If Sora had felt like burning up before, he felt like exploding right now. But courage and some kind of fighting spirit took over him and he decided that he was not going to lose to Riku. 

He grinned as adorably as he could and took another spoon full of ice cream, lifted it to his mouth and ate some but not everything. He then fed the rest to Riku, smiling proudly at him. 

"Now we even share the spoon." He snickered at Riku's surprised face and stuck out his tongue to tell him he could play just the same game. Of course Riku was just as eager to outdo him and reached out to take Sora's hand. The other boy was surprised and watched as Riku dipped one of Sora's fingers into the whipped cream before he lifted it to his mouth, lapping off the cream. 

Sora's eyes widened as he felt himself grow hot and he frantically tried to pull away but his body wouldn't move. They were in public, for heaven's sake! How could Riku do something like _ that _ to him when everybody could see it? How could he do it, _period_?! 

Riku pulled away, smirking at his victory over the younger boy. If Sora had surprised him before, Riku had paid him back quite well. 

"That was not fair…" Sora muttered as he pouted at the silver haired boy. A sudden idea came to his mind but he couldn't really do that. It would be the ultimate attack and he was sure Riku could no way outdo him after that…but he just couldn't do what came to his mind. 

He took a mouthful of the ice cream with syrup and leaned over the table, closer to Riku. 

The silver haired boy watched him with a calm, superior expression and Sora felt furious so that he just did what he had thought of, not caring if it was completely unthinkable and wrong. 

He moved forward, supporting himself on his hands as he leaned over the table. 

'STOP!!' the little voice in his mind screamed and he stopped just a few inches before Riku's face, eyes widening in shock as he realized what he had been about to do. Riku was still wearing that calm expression, though he did seem nervous as Sora stopped right before him, staring into his eyes. 

The ice cream in his mouth had melted and Sora was forced to swallow it, slowly withdrawing to sit back in his chair. His heart was pounding so loud that he was certain everyone could hear it. His eyes were facing the surface of the table now, unwilling to look at Riku. Sora mentally kicked himself. 

What the hell had he been trying to prove? Why did he have to go _ that _ far just to outdo the other boy? It was insane! Luckily he had stopped himself before he actually did it. Sora shuddered. He couldn't stop wondering what would have happened if he had actually gone through with the plan and shared the ice cream with Riku through a kiss. 

He gulped. Why in the world did he think of kissing Riku? It was gross! 

Sora faltered. Not that he had ever kissed anyone…or been close to anyone… or been anyone's friend for that matter. The only person close to him was his mother but just in a motherly or sisterly kind of way. She was family. But Riku was different. Riku was something he didn't understand. Maybe he was a friend. After all, he didn't quite know how to define the meaning of the word friend. Maybe Kairi was a friend, even though they just met. She seemed to be nice and he liked spending time with her because she always seemed to have something fun for them. But what was Riku? He felt different towards Riku. The emotion was similar but stronger. And there was rivalry between them. He wanted to be better than Riku even when he knew he couldn't because the silver haired boy was a God. He was perfect. 

"The ice cream's melting if you don't eat it," Riku suddenly said, snapping his fingers in front of Sora's eyes to make him come back to reality. 

The younger boy was startled and met Riku's eyes. He was still embarrassed about the whole thing but seemingly Riku didn't mind at all and pretended it to be completely normal. 

Sora sighed in relief and nodded. They ate, each with their own spoon this time. The little game of feeding each other had been more than enough to shut both of them up. They ate in silence, only sometimes glancing at each other before turning back to the quickly disappearing ice cream. 

When they were finished, Riku paid and Sora was not surprised to see how much money the boy had with him. 

"Isn't it dangerous to walk around with so much cash?" he asked as they walked towards Sora's home. Riku shrugged. 

"No one knows I have that much with me." 

They continued to walk and eventually reached Sora's house. It was late afternoon now and Sora still had homework to do, so he wanted to get in quickly. However, he found himself unable to leave as he and Riku stood there, staring at each other a little awkwardly. 

How to say goodbye? It was just like talking on the phone. 

First, Riku lifted his hand, attempting to wave, but then he lowered and extended it and Sora took it. They shook hands to say goodbye but somehow it didn't feel right. Sora smiled a little sheepishly, just like Riku and they shrugged in unison. 

"Are we going to try the little one, two, three trick again?" Riku asked in amusement. 

Sora chuckled and shrugged. "Like we count to three and then both turn around?" 

They agreed on that and readied themselves to count. 

"One," 

"Two," 

"Thr—" Sora was just about to open his mouth when he found himself being hugged by Riku. It was a really awkward hug, clumsy and only fleeting. 

Before he could really respond, the silver haired boy pulled away and waved, turning around to walk away. 

Sora just stood there, kind of dazed and awestruck. When he saw Riku almost turning around the corner he waved at him and called, "Don't forget to get me in the morning!" 

Riku stopped, turned and smiled. 

"Only if you don't oversleep again! I'll go without you if you're not there!" 

Sora nodded and both smiled, waving at each other before turning around, each going off into their direction. 

*** 

Riku leaned against the wall as soon as he had turned around the corner and out of Sora's sight. He exhaled loudly and struggled to keep standing. Whatever had possessed him to hug Sora? He wondered. And the thing with the ice cream. He had done it on purpose, all right but he didn't think it would make him feel quite like this. Riku's knees were jelly and he was surprised how well he could disguise the giddy feeling he had around the other boy. 

It also dawned on him that he had only seen him for the second day! He didn't even _ know _ Sora! 

He narrowed his eyes. Maybe he should get to know him then, he thought. 

Smiling slightly, Riku took a deep breath and nodded to himself, pushing off the wall to walk home…and stumbled. If only his knees were as confident as he thought he was…. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Turned out a little different from what I've planned. But it doesn't matter. So...they're only having a crush on each other. There's no love-of-my-life crap....yet XD For now they just get wobbly knees and butterflies from looking each other....which will fade away after they get to know each other....and then they'll be friends...and then they'll learn to love each other...and theeeen we come to the love-of-my-life crap ^-^ 

yeah... so I basically told you the whole plot right now. *sighs* 

oh well. review for this chapter...and you might get the next one! ^^ 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Oh I forgot to say this earlier but @Tyson FoxFlame: yup I know that song and it actually inspired the title ^^ cause I was listening to that song when I wrote the fic ^^  
yeah so... we got chapter 6 already. Seems like my writer's block is gone...it always vanishes when I say I have one. So no one ever believes me pft....  
anyway....I think I'm going to develop their friendship now. Like, the crush is wearing off...a little...and they'll be more like friends with some sexual tension heh heh heehh. And blushy Riku. Yeah, I love it when he blushes *gets sora to huggle riku*  
Riku: *blush*  
awww! ehh...enough rambling. have fun with the chapter! 

========= 

The week passed rather quickly and Sora found himself wishing it was Monday so he could go to school again. Usually he loved Sundays because his mother didn't have to work then and they would just sit around or take a walk or do something together and just relax. But ever since he'd come to the new school, Sora couldn't wait to go there. Not because he loved the building or the classes or anything…but because he missed Riku the moment he couldn't see him. 

It was an annoying feeling, really. They had met every morning, gone to school, spent the breaks and most of the classes together, and when they walked home (Riku always accompanied him) he didn't want the day to end. The funny thing was that the two boys always had problems with saying goodbye and ended up standing around for another thirty minutes before they actually turned. 

Riku hadn't hugged him ever again. Not after that one afternoon they had gone for the ice cream. And Sora wondered why he felt so disappointed. 

"Boo!" A voice behind him suddenly appeared and Sora jumped in surprise. 

He turned and saw his mother grinning at him. 

"Sooooo how's your friendship going?" she light-heartedly asked, still fighting to get her hair look decent. 

Sora sighed and shrugged, not knowing what to answer. Was this really a friendship? Sure, they saw each other every day and talked. But he found that he didn't know a thing about Riku. He had no idea where he lived. No idea what he liked (except for the Vanilla ice cream). No idea about his hobbies and what the boy was doing when he was not at school. He also had no idea about his family or past other than they were extremely rich. It felt like thinking of a fictional character of whom he knew a few facts but nothing personal. 

"Why don't you call him to come over? I'd like to see that boy." 

Sora immediately shook his head and blushed at the thought of having Riku here in this house. It was bad enough to think of him but having him here with him, when his mother was there even! No, it was unthinkable. Besides, he didn't think it was the right time. They had only known each other for a few days…he wasn't sure if Riku would agree to come to him. And actually he was afraid that he would laugh at him for that little apartment. They didn't have enough space for more than two people. It would just get awkward with Riku. 

Of course he was only trying to find reasons not to invite Riku over because he was simply too nervous. The apartment was small, all right, but it would have easily given enough space and it wasn't as shabby as Sora thought it was. Sure, the walls seemed to crack on some sides but it wasn't like it was a complete mess. 

Sora's mother sighed and patted her son's head. 

"It's ok. Take your time but just so you know, your friends are always welcome here." She smiled as Sora looked up and nodded at him, encouraging him and hoping he would invite this friend of him now. It didn't work. 

"Yeah, maybe later…" he answered, getting up from the couch to stroll into his room. To his mother's surprise, Sora closed the door to his room. 

She shrugged. Time for some sleep. Not that she needed it since she'd slept till noon today, but she was bored and sleeping had always been a hobby of hers. 

*** 

Riku was in his room, lying in the huge bed. There were at least five pillows around him and he rolled back and forth in frustration. Why wasn't Sora calling him? Why did it have to be Sunday? Why was he thinking of Sora all the time?? He hated it and punched himself in the guts only to grimace and roll his eyes in annoyance. He was getting more and more stupid and it was all because of Sora. 

Getting to know the boy was harder than he thought because every time he attempted to ask him something, he was overrun by screeching fangirls. The only time they were alone was on their way home or in the morning when he came to pick Sora up. But at those times Riku never got the courage to actually ask anything personal and instead they just talked about random stuff and things that happened at school. 

He began to wonder what the boy was doing right now and imagined him sitting outside in a park with that cute smile and adorable clueless look on his face. He wished he could go to him but he couldn't. Whenever he wanted to go somewhere he had to tell his parents and give them the exact location and reason. He wasn't allowed to go out if it had nothing to do with education except it was shopping. Since his mother loved shopping, Riku was always allowed to go but only under the condition that a servant went with him. He wasn't even allowed to go out on Sundays unless he was accompanied by some of the attendants. And bringing someone with him wasn't really what he wanted when he got to Sora. Also, he didn't want to come by without invitation so he had to wait until Sora wanted to have him there. 

He cringed, now that he felt the pain in his stomach. Why the hell had he punched himself? It seemed Sora was able to make his reason disappear. He sighed. 

*** 

Sora awoke with the brightest smile on his lips as he looked at his alarm clock. It was 6:45 a.m. and it was Monday! The last day had been torture and Sora still felt the pain in his hand where he had bitten himself to stop saying Riku's name. It was that bad. 

Dressing himself in ultra speed he rushed out to get some breakfast and finished it in less than a minute. Now he was ready to go and it was only 6:48. 

The smile on his face wouldn't falter and he checked the things in his bag for anything he might have forgotten. Everything ok. He looked at the kitchen to see that everything was cleaned so he had nothing to do. Sora sighed. How to kill time until Riku arrived? It was only 6:53 now. 

Deciding that the day seemed sunny and inviting enough, Sora took his school bag and walked out, locking the door of the house since his mother was already gone. When he was to turn around he suddenly noticed someone standing next to him, leaning against the wall. He looked to his right and yelped as he saw Riku with his arms crossed, eyes closed. 

"Riku!" he exclaimed with wide eyes, surprised to see the boy this early. Was his clock wrong? Or had time passed in the last few seconds so fast that it was already 7:30? 

Riku opened his eyes and looked over at Sora, a little surprised himself. 

"Eh…Sora? What are you doing here so early?" 

Sora's jaw dropped and he shook his head to gather his wits. 

"I think the question is what are _ you_ doing here so early??" he countered, staring in confusion as Riku pushed himself off the wall to straighten his clothes. His face looked a little flushed all of the sudden and Sora noticed how his gaze dropped to his feet. 

"Um…I woke up too early…and I…" he paused, raising his gaze to meet Sora's and smiled. 

"I came here an hour ago. I couldn't sleep anymore and I thought I might as well come here…and wait." The blush on those pale cheeks increased and Sora felt himself blush, too. 

No words were exchanged after that but Riku tentatively reached out to take Sora's hand. He saw how the younger boy tensed and relaxed shortly after, giving him that bright smile again. Riku smiled back in relief and then they just stood there, holding hands, smiling at each other. They had another 30 minutes before they had to go, so what would they do? 

Riku didn't think he could last any longer and sat down on the ground, pulling Sora with him as he did so. His legs would give in if he continued to look at Sora. The only thing he hadn't thought of was that Sora would lose his balance, slip and fall onto him in an awkward position - bumping foreheads. 

"Ow!" both of them exclaimed, rubbing their heads in unison. Riku felt his heart pound ten times faster and felt embarrassed for pulling Sora down like that but Sora seemed to take it lightly and began to laugh. 

He laughed as he pulled away, still kind of sitting on the silver haired boy and Riku felt the blood rush into his cheeks. 

He blushed. Hard. He could feel Sora's weight shifting in his lap as the younger boy laughed at their idiotic accident. His laughter seemed to be infectious and soon Riku was laughing, too without really knowing why it was so funny to bump their foreheads. It really hurt, too. But Sora was laughing and Riku felt like laughing, too and they still had half an hour left before they had to go, so they might as well laugh. 

And they did. Until it was time to leave and Sora had rolled off Riku's lap since he seemingly preferred to roll around on the ground. 

The silver haired boy rubbed his eyes to clear his vision from the tears that had come forth due to the unstoppable urge to laugh. It took all of his willpower to stop laughing and the fact that Sora was still giggling did not help. 

"Let's go!" He forced himself up and pulled the giggling and shaking mass named Sora with him. Only to have them fall over again. 

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed, already bursting into laughter again. He should have been embarrassed and annoyed, for they were in the middle of the street now, lying on the ground, _Sora on top of him _, laughing like maniacs. 

"Sooooorry!" Sora snickered, trying to get up. Riku started laughing again as he watched the younger boy struggle to get up. He couldn't stand on his feet for longer than 2 seconds. 

"We're going to be late if you keep going like that," Riku scolded, frowning at Sora. He was getting worried now. It wouldn't be good to be late for school. 

Sora seemed to calm down and grinned at Riku. 

"Errr all right, I'm ready to go. But just an advice…you should stop lying around on the ground." 

His grin broadened and he nearly burst into laughter again as Riku's eyes widened. He was blushing again and quickly got up, straightening out his clothes. He looked at his watch and gaped. 

It was almost 7:50 now! They had ten minutes to get to school, which was very much impossible because they'd need at least 20. 

"Sora I swear it, if we're late because of you, you're so gonna get it!" 

Blinking, Sora had no time to realize what was actually happening and only found himself stumbling after Riku who was pulling him along. Riku ran at an inhuman speed and Sora had to struggle to keep up. But he wanted to show Riku he could keep up and forced all his strength into his legs before he clenched his teeth and dashed as fast as he could until he was right next to Riku and they ran neck and neck. 

"Don't worry! We'll make it in time, trust me!" Sora breathlessly called, giving Riku a confident grin. He only hoped it was true. 

*** 

"I'm soooorrry!" 

"Shut up." 

"But I'm really, really sorry!" 

"Just shut up, will you." 

"But Riku, it wasn't completely my fault…" 

"I'm telling you to shut up, Sora!" 

Sora frowned and hung his head, sighing deeply as he stood in the corridor, holding a bucket* of water. Riku was standing next to him and he scowled. He looked really frightening with that scowl, Sora noted. They stood in silence as the clock on the wall ticked away the minutes. Only twenty more minutes and they'd be free. 

"You know, in my whole life, this has never ever happened before," Riku suddenly muttered, scowling at the clock. Sora turned to him with an apologetic smile. 

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" 

He immediately regretted that remark because Riku snapped his head to him and he was still wearing that frightening scowl. However, his features softened somewhat when he saw Sora's quivering lips and he heaved a long sigh, rolling his eyes. 

"Yeah I guess…" he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he recounted what happened. 

They had been late even though they had run as fast as they could. Ten minutes too late. And as if that hadn't been enough they ruined the door of the classroom when they barged in like some wild animal. The teacher obviously wasn't very pleased by that and told them to sit down quietly. It would have been all right then, Riku thought, but no, there had to be something that went wrong. Sora tripped, knocked Riku over while he was at it and the next thing he knew was that they were standing in the halls with two buckets. 

_"And as the school representative, even…" _The teacher had shaken his head and Riku felt humiliated and embarrassed. 

All of this was Sora's fault. What if that teacher told others about it? It was bad enough that his classmates had witnessed the whole scene. He really hoped it wouldn't spread through the whole school. Riku the model pupil had been late for school and ruined the door when he trampled into the classroom. He could already see the headlines of the school magazine. 

"Do you hate me now?" 

Riku snapped out of his thoughts and blinked at Sora's worried expression. He shook his head and tried to smile though he failed since he was still angry. Not angry at Sora but angry that he cared so much about what others thought of him. Here he had thought he didn't care at all but now he noticed how important his image had become for him. 

Sora sighed in relief and slumped his shoulders. He moved a little closer to Riku until their shoulders touched. 

"Can I make it up to you somehow?" he quietly asked, looking straight ahead as he leaned against the wall. 

Riku's anger subsided as he felt Sora close to him and he shrugged slightly. 

"It's okay…" he answered, feeling his arms turning sore from holding that bucket. Sora made a sound of protest and pushed himself off the wall to face him. 

"No, I really wanna do something for you. I owe you for the ice cream, anyway." He trailed off, thinking of delicious desserts and nearly lost his train of thought as he remembered their little game. 

"Don't worry about it," Riku insisted, bringing Sora back to the real world. 

The brunet thought for a while and then wondered if Riku would like to… No, he couldn't. Or could he? Why not, he asked himself. Riku had seen the outside of his house often enough, maybe he would like to see the inside, too. 

"Hey, um…" Sora hesitantly began, wondering if he should really invite Riku over. He took all his courage and remembered his mother wanting to see his friend so he decided to ask. Just because he asked it didn't mean Riku would agree. 

As he thought about it, he suddenly wondered if he could even call Riku a friend. His mother had assumed they were friends right from the first day…but were they really? When did you call someone a friend? 

"Well?" Riku prodded, obviously curious to what Sora wanted to say. 

Sora took a deep breath and nodded. 

"Wanna come over to my place some time? Like, in the afternoon…or on…a Sunday…" he hesitated as he saw Riku's face. It was unreadable. But then a smile tugged on his lips and Riku slowly began to nod, only stopping as he realized one thing. 

If he really wanted to go, he had to explain it to his parents and find a good reason for them to let him go. Alone. 

"I'd really like to but…" He became uneasy and pondered over what he should say. It would be the best chance to finally meet Sora outside of school and be alone with him. They could finally talk about things without being bothered by those _idiot girls_, as he liked to call them. 

Sora's face fell as he thought Riku didn't want to come and was just being polite. Somehow he had known that Riku wouldn't agree. Maybe he didn't even care... 

"Oh, it's okay if you don't want to…" he murmured, shrugging his shoulders, trying to take it lightly. He didn't want Riku to see how disappointed he was. 

The silver haired boy immediately shook his head, a little too vigorous in his actions because he spilled some of the water in the bucket as he protested. 

"No, no, no! You don't understand…it's not like that…" he faltered and frowned as he thought of how to explain it to Sora so he could understand. No one ever understood why he couldn't meet anyone outside school. He had become used to it and everyone knew it by now that Riku, the perfect angel, had no dealings with other people like his classmates. But still, it sounded too ridiculous to say 'my parents don't let me'. 

"I really want to…" he then continued, seeming thoughtful. Sora noticed and turned to him with a small frown, feeling a little worried. 

"Then what is it?" 

Riku hung his head. He didn't know how to say it. 

But Sora didn't want to leave him be and leaned close to him, resting his head on his shoulder. 

"It's okay if you really can't. But I thought I might make it up to you…you know…everything." 

Riku smiled and nudged Sora's head with his chin to make him look up. 

"Well if that's it...I'll try my best to come." 

Sora's eyes widened and he seemed to sparkle with happiness as he heard Riku's answer. 

"Really? Yeah, great!" he cheered, spilling almost half of the water as he wanted to throw his arms around the other boy. "Uh…" He nervously looked around, trying to wipe up the spilled water with his shoes. Which was a very bad idea, by the way. 

Riku chuckled and stopped him, gesturing towards the toilet. 

"I'll take the bucket, you get some paper to clean this mess." 

Sora bowed his head and heaved a long sigh. "Man, now I owe you again." 

Riku snickered and wagged his eyebrows. "You can pay it alllll back, don't worry," he said with a slight smirk. 

Suddenly, Sora wasn't so sure if he really wanted that.

– To be continued – 

========= 

*about that...you know in anime when they have to stand around in the halls with a bucket of water because they were late? I was thinking of that....

**Ending notes: ** Whoot! So how was it? Liked it? Of course you did! heh. mmmm yeah like I said. Friendship's going to come now. they'll get to know each other since Sora's invited Riku to his house...and blah blah, I really don't wanna spoil the fic ^-^

ja review and stay tuned ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Chapter 7 already! And so many reviews! *_* ...anywayz, this chapter has almost no fluff. Riku's not at Sora'a house yet. He has yet to face his parents about this, right? So we get a whole lot of family discussion....and I tell you, Riku's mother is evil. Because I felt like making her evil. *nods*  
read it to see what happens to our sweet silver bishie...

========= 

Riku braced himself as he walked away from Sora's house. The day had passed far too quickly but luckily there hadn't been any more incidents, which would send his reputation flying out of the window. 

Now he was on his way home, into the lion's cave, because he had to somehow tell his parents about his plans. He couldn't wait to be in the same house as Sora, even if it was just for an afternoon. Sora had invited him and he felt his heart flutter in his chest as he thought about it. How he wished he could have just walked in when they were saying their awkward goodbye. He was so tempted to hug him again but somehow he couldn't so they just shook hands. 

Sora did look a little disappointed but it could have been Riku's imagination. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. For now he would walk home, back into the world he had been living before this boy had entered his life. It seemed another lifetime when he had spent every day just wasting away with the things his parents made him do. He never thought of anything, never did anything that he liked. 

But things had changed. Now he felt like he was seeing so much more and he felt so much more. He was thinking so much more. Mostly of Sora, of course. He wanted to see him as soon as possible but that meant talking to his parents. 

'Oh joy…' he sourly thought to himself, remembering other times he had tried to discuss something. The dressing-himself-in-the-morning-thing had been a spectacle he didn't want to remember. And now it was something even worse. How would his parents react? Especially his mother… 

*** 

"Why is it I can't have friends?" 

Riku stared at the swirls he was making with his spoon as he stirred the soup. He had decided that it was time. They were having dinner and Riku had thought enough about how to tell them. He just couldn't. So he tried something else…just ask. 

His mother barely looked up. She never paid much attention to him unless she was the one asking something. His father, however, turned to him with a slightly pained look. It was a very delicate matter, this thing about friends, and they had gone through it so often now. 

"Now, Riku…" he began in a very gentle and reasonable voice. 

Riku just continued to stare. He didn't want to hear his father explain to him, no, he wanted his mother to talk to him. Ever since he could remember, all his problems were solved by his father. He would explain in a rational voice and tell him about things he had to know. His mother only told him what to do and how to do it. She never bothered to explain. 

So Riku asked. And he was asking her. 

"Why do you keep me caged like I'm some kind of animal?" 

This time, the woman at the end of the table did look up and she wasn't very pleased. Her lips were drawn to a fine line and her eyes were like slits. They've always been rather narrow so she wore some make up to make them look bigger. Her features were square but beautiful. She was, no doubt, a very beautiful woman with pale skin and fine black hair, which was obviously dyed but no one noticed. She looked natural and still so perfect. Just like Riku. 

"I do not want to talk about this while having dinner," she announced in her high-frequency voice. It wasn't a loud voice but it had a deafening frequency. Especially when she _wanted_ to talk like that. 

Riku snorted and stopped stirring, pushing his food away. He crossed his arms like a stubborn child; he did that very often when talking to his mother. 

"Well, when do you want to talk about it? You never even listen to me. Now's the best time for it." 

He managed to keep his voice calm despite his inner tumult. He hated talking to his mother. It was like talking to a brick wall. Well, obviously, talking to a wall would have been easier because it wouldn't look at you with those painted eyes and fine lips that gave such a cold expression. Riku always shuddered at the thought of looking directly at his mother. It had become a custom to keep his head bowed whenever he was around his parents. Mostly out of respect, which he had been taught, but also because he feared to look at his mother. 

The woman ignored him and continued eating. 

Riku's father looked back and forth between the two and gave Riku a sympathetic look. As the silver haired boy caught it, he immediately lowered his head and thought of dropping the subject. His father didn't deserve hearing this. His father was a nice and hard-working man. Despite all the money, he was still down to earth. He was generous and understanding and also a very good businessman who could negotiate like no one else. If there had ever been a person Riku was able to admire, it would be his father. 

"What if I suddenly decided to go somewhere, like to a friend's place or something. What if I just went?" 

Riku cursed himself as soon as the words left his mouth. He shouldn't have done that. So many years of struggling and fighting and he still hadn't learned to keep his big mouth shut. But then again, sooner or later it would have happened. Maybe he even did it on purpose, who knew? Riku was always more the rebellious type even though he seemed completely submissive at times. 

"Say something to him," the cold woman demanded, throwing a quick glare at her husband before turning back to her task – ignoring her son. 

The man sighed and turned to Riku, opened his mouth but stopped as he noted that Riku wasn't looking at him. The silver haired boy kept staring at his mother. He was scanning her for any kind of emotion other than annoyance for his existence. It seemed she wished he wasn't there. Or maybe he wasn't there for her. She sure managed to ignore him most of the times. 

"Riku, we've told you so many times before…the reason we don't want you to go out like that is…" 

Riku turned his head to his father, scowling at him for beginning with _ that_ again. Oh yes, he knew exactly what he was going to say. 

"Blah blah blah, the world's dangerous, I'm your precious son, you don't want anything happening to me. Hell, I'm fifteen and I'm sure as hell stronger than most people my age. Even the little kids get to run around on their own for at least an hour so why do you all have to act like I'm some kind of stupid princess that might break her precious legs once she takes a step?" 

Too late. It had started and he was sure he wouldn't stop. Not for his father's sake. Not for his own sake, though he should have better if he wanted to live a little longer. Because it was in that moment that his mother finally looked up, looked at him. And she wasn't smiling at him. She wasn't giving any kind of motherly affection or understanding. 

Nope, that was not what his mother looked like. Riku inwardly cringed. She was out on war and he knew that he'd just started the first attack. 

"Watch your tone, mister," she warned him, in that edgy voice he hated so much. 

But Riku wouldn't back down. In fact, he did quite the opposite. Because it felt like a challenge. 

"So you've decided to stop ignoring me? Finally! Well, now, _mother_, would you _please_ be so kind and explain to me why you don't want me to meet anyone? It's not like you care about me! It's not like you see me except when I'm doing something you demand of me!" He stopped himself as he noticed that his voice had gotten louder. He didn't mean to shout at her. 

Meanwhile, the servants took away the dishes and served the next course. Their dinner consisted of seven or eight courses and they were currently at the third one. Riku's mother gave a short laugh and she shook her head. 

"Oh, my Riku, you're still such a child. When will you finally learn? You are not one of them. We don't want you to interact with such low people. They are blind and stupid. They wouldn't appreciate you. Those people are simple-minded and ignorant fools. You are too good for them." 

It hurt Riku to hear these words because he felt like his mother had just insulted Sora. Simple-minded and ignorant fool? Blind and stupid? Sora was nothing like that! 

But his mother wasn't finished. In fact, she had just started. 

"You wouldn't find satisfaction with them!" She gave another short laugh, though it sounded bitter. 

"They only see your money, your glorious life style and that's it. They wouldn't ever like you. Not because you aren't a good person, no, you're perfect, Riku. You're like a gemstone among those dirty pebbles. But they can't see it, and that's why you will only be disappointed…" She suddenly stopped, her expression changing slightly into a more thoughtful look. She actually seemed to have emotions for a moment and Riku frowned. 

"…they will only break your heart. You will just get hurt if you get too close to those idiots." 

Their eyes met for a second but the magic was gone immediately, for the woman's eyes turned cold in an instant. 

"I forbid you to get involved with anyone other than the people we tell you to meet! These low-class fools have no right to meet you and you will continue to go to your lessons and learn everything you can. When I was your age I didn't have the chance! Now look at you, you have everything, and you can study all you want! You live in paradise!" 

She didn't seem to lose her temper. She was just using her deafening frequency now that Riku cringed, shrinking into his chair. There she was saying it again and for a second the thought of strangling her came to his mind but he quickly banished it. No, he would never think of anything like that. It wasn't right. He knew she loved him, at least _somehow_ and that in some weird and twisted kind of way she was convinced that her idea was correct. It was all a matter of discussion…but discussions with that woman? Riku should have never started… 

"I live in paradise, you say?" he quietly asked. He saw his father turning to him with a cautious look, telling him to stop now because enough was enough. Once his mother had an outburst, she wouldn't let him off that easily anymore. 

But Riku refused to give in now. Not after that remark, not after that _challenging_ remark about paradise. 

"You know what, _mother_?" he angrily bit out, clenching his teeth at the thought of telling her what he was thinking. 

"You think this is paradise, you really do? Well, I tell you something. After all these years I've figured out something. If this is really paradise, if this is _really_ what people think of when they say 'paradise'….then I'd rather go to hell!" 

With that, he pushed out of his chair, got up and turned. Only then, it occurred to him that he had never acted like that before. He had never actually shouted or been this aggressive. And his mother hadn't been crying. 

'Crying…?' 

His eyes widened at the unfamiliar sound and he spun around to see his mother's face buried in her hands while his father had a mortified look on his face. Riku felt a pang in his chest and his mouth opened in some vain attempt to say something, to apologize maybe. Never had his mother cried. Never had he seen her like this, all emotional and distressed. Had he really hurt her? 

He clenched his fists. 

"If…if you would excuse me now…I wish to go to my room…" 

He forced the words out, trying to apologize through them. Maybe she would stop crying then. And indeed, she did. She stopped her sobbing and looked up. 

"Riku…" 

He shuddered. There was the voice again. That cold, high-frequency voice. 

"If you ever…ever talk to me like that again…" she threatened, slowly gaining her usual calmness. 

"One more time, and I'll throw you out of this house, with my own hands! And you'll never be able to come back here, do you understand? I will throw you out and see you roll to the other side of the town if you ever, I mean _ever_, in my and your whole life, _ talk like that to me again_." 

She paused, letting the words sink in before she gave one final "Did I make myself clear?" 

And it sounded so hostile, so hurtful that Riku couldn't help feeling tears springing into his eyes. He hated her. He absolutely hated her. And he had felt sorry just a second ago. Rubbing his nose with the back of his hand he dipped his head, keeping it bowed, as he was used to. 

"Yes…ma'am…" he hissed, biting his lip so hard it almost drew blood. 

And then he left. He calmly walked into his room, shut the door and locked it. There he was again. The huge room. And it seemed so cold. So empty. 

He went to the phone. Luckily his phone saved the numbers of those who called. Wiping once more at his nose and eyes, he took a deep breath and relaxed. Eventually, a small smile came to his lips and he dialled a certain number. 

*** 

Sora was sitting in the living room with nothing to do. It was after nine and his mother wouldn't be back until midnight so he was bored. He could have gone to sleep but he didn't feel like lying in that bed right now. Then he remembered he was supposed to do the laundry, which meant washing the clothes with his hands because they had no machine. His mother had told him to do so two days ago and he _still_ hadn't done it. 

"Aw man…nothing saves me from this…" he muttered to himself. 

But as if on cue, the phone suddenly rang, and Sora's heart leapt into his throat since he knew it could only be one person. No one had his number and only one person would call him at this time. 

He spurted over to the phone and picked up. 

"Hello, Sora speaking!" 

He heard a chuckle on the other side of the line and smiled. 

"Riku!" he cheerfully called, already knowing it was him the moment he picked up. 

The boy on the other side heaved a sigh. 

"Hey, Sora…" 

The brunet frowned at the tone in his voice. Riku sounded strange. 

"Hey what's wrong? You sound kinda strange…" 

There was no answer to that but eventually Riku heaved another sigh. Sora could hear some rustling through the phone and then there was another heavy sigh. 

Riku had sat down on the carpeted floor of his room, leaning his head against the wall as he held the phone. 

"Would you mind talking to me for a while?" he then asked, quietly and timidly so that Sora felt his mood rise. It was the shy Riku, all right! He grinned happily at having that boy back, the one who wouldn't be so cocky and superior. Riku even sounded needy right now. Which caused Sora to frown again. 

"Nah, we can talk all you want. I've got loads of time," he answered, sitting down on the kitchen counter, which gave a creaking sound in protest. He winced and hoped it wouldn't break. 

There was silence for a while and Sora wondered what exactly he was supposed to do. Was Riku expecting him to say something? He thought of asking Riku about the whole coming over to his place thing but he wasn't sure whether it was good idea. Riku had told him he had to take care of a few things first… 

"So, what's up?" he lamely asked, not knowing what else to say. 

To his surprise Riku blew out his breath into the receiver. "Pffft…it's nothing. Just trouble with my stupid mother…I thought I might tell you…" he stopped again and it seemed he was thinking it through. 

Sora smiled. "Tell me everything. I'd be glad to listen." 

It didn't matter to him that he had school on the next day. It didn't matter to him that the kitchen counter was certainly not liking his weight. And it didn't matter to him that he was supposed to do the laundry. 

'Two days, three days, what's the difference?' 

If it was about Riku, nothing else mattered. He would spend the whole night talking to him if necessary. And it probably was, because Riku began to tell him about the dinner and what had taken place and what he felt. It wasn't before 1 a.m when Sora's mother finally came home, blinking in surprise as she saw the boy curled up on the floor with the receiver pressed to his ear while he slept. 

On the other side of the line, Riku was equally curled up on the floor, in the same position with the receiver at his ear, sleeping peacefully. 

The sound of each other's breathing had lulled them into sleep after everything had been told. And so they fell asleep on the phone, probably causing one hell of a phone bill but who cared? 

The boys, obviously not. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** sorry about this chapter being so lame. But I needed this part so you get the idea of what's going on in Riku's family life... and the ending was ok, wasn't it? I mean despite all the things the evil mother said, Riku still kind of trusts Sora. Enough to call him and tell him everything... I think that needs some amount of trust.   
Also...For all the fluff lovers (which is probably most of you ^^) I promise the next chapter will be full of fluff! It will come out as soon as possible and as fluffy as possible so don't be too disappointed with this chapter right now. It was necessary.   
Review if you like. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Well...I guess I couldn't wait. Here's chapter 8 filled with fluff as compensation for chapter 7! I didn't think I'd write it on the same day but, hell, here it is!  
If you ask me I think this is kinda the fluffiest chapter I wrote until now (except maybe the ice cream scene? but who knows..) Judge for yourself, though and have fun!

========= 

Sora awoke with a start. His internal clock was telling him to get up and he could feel that something was wrong. 

He opened his eyes, feeling strangely sore and uncomfortable. He wrinkled his nose as he noted that his back kind of hurt though he wasn't sure why. Of course his bed wasn't the best one in the world but he'd never felt so uncomfortable before. 

And then he noticed he wasn't lying in his bed. In fact, he wasn't even lying. He was sitting, leaned against the wall with something pressed to his ear. And he could hear breathing. 

"Huh?" His eyes opened fully and widened as he realized where he was. Quickly, he shifted his gaze to the clock on the wall and squinted. 7:05. 

"Riku!" he exclaimed, covering his mouth as he realized the boy on the phone was still sleeping. He wanted to wake him up but not like that. 

Sora sighed and listened closer to the sounds that came from the other side of the line. Riku was breathing very lightly, almost like a child, and he was breathing so steadily that Sora nearly fell asleep again. Shaking his head, he decided to wake the other boy. They had to go to school, right? 

Quietly, he whispered into the phone. 

"Riku, you gotta wake up." 

There was no reaction and honestly, Sora hadn't expected any. He had to do more than just whisper. Grinning, an evil thought crossed his mind. If Riku still had the receiver right at his ear this might be fun, if also a little hurtful. 

Sora snickered. Poor Riku. 

He took a deep breath, preparing to shout and— 

A light cough came from the other side and Sora stopped. He heard rustling and some mutterings and then finally a sharp intake of breath. 

There came a row of cursing, which was half slurred in his sleepy state as Riku realized what time it was and what had happened. He didn't seem to notice he was still talking through the phone and that Sora could hear everything. 

The brunet chuckled and decided to make himself known to the other boy. He cleared his throat. 

"Um, Riku…" he began, hearing the silver haired boy curse some more. He snickered and shook his head. 

"Riku! We're gonna be late if you keep swearing like that! Get your lazy butt here so we can go!" He waited for a reply. 

There was nothing. A sudden silence had fallen over them and Sora would have thought Riku left the phone, if it were not for the breathing against his ear. Then, Sora heard a sigh and a few unintelligible words were muttered. He couldn't even ask what Riku had said because the other boy spoke clearly shortly after. 

"I'll be right there. Don't worry." He sounded a little weary and Sora frowned, wondering if he had done something wrong. He didn't want Riku to sound like that. 

"I'm sorry," he murmured in his most adorable and apologetic voice. 

Silence. 

Then Riku cleared his throat and he seemed to shake his head though Sora couldn't really know. 

"What for? If anyone has to say sorry it's me. I mean…" he paused, leaving Sora time to glance at the clock. Unless Riku could fly here they would be late for sure. But that was unimportant right now, for Riku obviously wanted to say something. 

"You've listened to me all night…and I…you know…um…" It occurred to Sora that Riku was struggling for words again, just like the time he told him why he'd given him the number. 'Shy Riku! Shy Riku!' he chanted in his mind, grinning happily at this. 

"Thanks for wasting your time with me…" the silver haired boy murmured. Sora's grin turned into a soft smile and he was tempted to kiss the phone so Riku would hear it. But he didn't. Instead he just continued to smile. 

"Come now, you gotta go. I'll be waiting for you." 

Riku nodded and smiled. "Ok, see ya in a few minutes. I'll be as fast as I can." 

It got Sora wondering _where_ Riku actually lived. He'd never asked him or been at his place and the fact that he could get him every morning intrigued him somewhat. Maybe he wasn't far away but then again, wouldn't he know about a huge villa, because Riku must have lived in such a huge house. Well, maybe he would ask him sometime today. 

"Someone's gotta hang up, though," Sora chuckled as he noticed that they were still standing there. Riku sighed. 

"One." Sora grinned. 

"Two." 

"…" No one said three. Sora thought that Riku was maybe trying to say or do something again because it had happened often enough and he was still wondering what Riku had tried to say at their first phone call. 

"You know, if we're late because of you this time, we're even," Sora commented with a slight grin. 

Riku laughed at that and snorted. "As if, Sora. As if…" He smirked and moved his hand to put the receiver back. Something stopped him for a second and then he pulled it back, knowing that Sora was still on. "Thanks, Sora. That…meant a lot to me." Then he hung up, leaving Sora a little dumbfounded. He could feel heat rushing to his cheeks and soon he was blushing so intensely that he was sure his face would burn up in an instant. 

*** 

They had managed to get to school and miraculously they were on time. Riku had been faster than Sora expected and everything had worked out. In the morning, when they reached the building, a horde of fangirls was running towards Riku again and Sora could see the change in him. It angered him again but then he decided to shrug it off because it seemed to be inevitable. At least he would get the real Riku when they were alone…which brought him to his latest topic. When would Riku come to his place? 

Physics was boring. Sora hated it. He was sitting next to Riku (like always) and he couldn't help sighing and pouting. He wanted this class to end. 

Riku gave him a few glances and he seemed to be amused by Sora's sulking antics. A small smile tugged on his lips and he leaned over to Sora's ear. 

"Bored?" he whispered as his hand wandered over to Sora's. Sora tensed and quickly turned his head to Riku so they were looking each other in the eyes. Their faces were close and their hands were touching – Sora felt warm all over. He nodded silently to Riku's question and jumped slightly as Riku's hand engulfed his, entwining their fingers so they were holding hands. 

Riku smiled but it wasn't his usual smile, not that one he was giving everyone. It was a different kind of smile, the one Sora had imagined while they were talking on the phone. 

The silver haired boy leaned yet a little closer and then lowered his head so it was resting on Sora's arm. The brunet's eyes widened and he looked around the class for anyone to notice, but they were sitting in the back row and everyone was too busy trying to follow the lesson (because no one ever figured the works of physics) so that no one turned to the back. 

Sora felt a tingling sensation as the boy's head landed on his arm. 

"I'm sorry for keeping you up all night…" he murmured, looking up from beneath his eyelashes. Sora caught his breath at the sight but managed to calm down enough to answer. 

"You don't have to be sorry. I love—" he stopped himself, a little uncertain. Then he continued. "I loved talking to you. And you know, you'll never _waste_ my time. I mean…whenever you need to talk…or anything…just do it. I'll be there for you." 

He didn't know where this had come from, and honestly, he wasn't even sure what these words meant since he had never said those things to anyone. Or heard anyone saying them to him. But at that moment he was sure that it was the right thing. 

And it probably was because Riku looked up with a mixture of shock and gratitude. He opened his mouth but he couldn't find the words. 

Sora reached out his other hand since one hand was being held by Riku, which felt amazing by the way, and stroked over the silver hair. He raised his eyebrows at the feel of those silver strands and he chuckled. What else could someone expect from this boy? Of course his hair felt like silk. Well, it didn't exactly. It felt better than silk. There was no word to describe the feeling he had when he ran his palm over the soft silver mane. Riku sighed and yielded into his touch and Sora saw him blushing just like he was. 

Unfortunately, they had to stop because the teacher had finished writing on the black board and was turning back to face the class. 

Riku quickly pulled away, lowering his head to hide the blush. He murmured something and Sora wasn't sure if he had heard right but then Riku scribbled something and passed it to Sora. Exchanging messages was easier than talking. 

Sora unfolded the little piece of paper and read. 

    _No one's ever done that for me…you're the first person who cares…_

He couldn't help but smile as this tingling spread through his chest and then his whole body. Reading those lines wasn't as good as hearing it from Riku, hearing the beautiful voice, but it was enough to make him dizzy and fuzzy. 

He quickly wrote a reply and gave it to the other boy, taking a deep breath to stop the giddy feeling inside him. 

Riku read. His eyes wandered over the words for a few more times before he turned to Sora with a blank expression. He stared at the boy, a little disbelieving maybe, and then there was this small smile again and he hid his eyes under his bangs. His cheeks had turned a deeper shade of red and Sora was sure he looked the same. 

Passing the note back to Sora, Riku gave him another smile and then turned back to finally listen to the teacher. 

Sora unfolded the paper and laid it next to his textbook. There were those lines. 

     _No one's ever done that for me…you're the first person who cares…_

And then there was Sora's reply. 

    _ And you're the first person who makes me feel I'm worth something…besides…you're nice…so it's natural I care for you…a lot…_

His own words seemed so stupid to him but seemingly they had affected Riku and he liked the way it was going. Riku _liked_ him. Riku, the perfect angel who never got interested in anyone _liked him_. And it wasn't only that. It wasn't that Sora was proud to have achieved something others hadn't. Riku was just perfect the way he was – not the side he was at school when he seemed to be flawless and god-like. No, Sora thought the other side of him, the sweet and timid side was nice. The perfect, sexy side was good, too, he had to admit. And that was what made Riku so perfect. 

Sora cringed at his thoughts. What the hell was he ranting about in his head? He should concentrate on the lesson. His marks weren't really good even when he listened so not listening would be only worse. 

He sighed. Riku had started paying attention to what the teacher said and was already filling out something in the book. Sora glanced over to him to see what he was writing. He had no idea about the whole stuff. Maybe Riku would let him copy the answers. 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. They exchanged a few looks every now and then, smiling at each other but that was about it. Everything was as always. They talked about trivial things and sometimes Kairi would join in and tell them of the latest gossip about their teachers, which was always amusing. Often they also had to dodge the flying presents of screaming fangirls and Riku would avoid every girl with ease while Sora had to struggle not to get hit. 

Then it was time to go home and Sora found that he still didn't know when Riku was going to come to him. If at all. 

So they were walking down the road in silence after Sora' chattering dissolved. He noted how his stomach suddenly rumbled since he hadn't eaten lunch. Normally he never ate lunch because he had enough for breakfast to last until dinner but that morning he didn't have time for anything. So his stomach started complaining. 

Riku turned to him in surprise and then looked down to his stomach. Sora blushed. The silver haired boy leaned down and put his ear to Sora's abdomen, causing him to blush even more. They were in the middle of the street! 

Riku pulled away and smirked. "I guess it's time for you to owe me even more." He winked and took Sora's hand, pulling him towards the convenience store. 

"Here, tell me what you want. I'll buy it." 

They went through the little store and Sora spotted a cup of instant noodles, beef flavoured. His favourite type. 

"That one," he pointed at the cup and Riku smiled. 

"That's all? Don't worry about the price, take whatever you want." 

Sora scratched his head and shrugged. He was used to being saving, his mother had taught him that ever since he was little. But Riku didn't seem to care about that and pulled Sora along. 

"Tell me what you like. If you don't take it I'll do it." He smiled as Sora's eyes widened and nodded to reassure him. So they went through the small aisles while Sora told him what he liked and Riku kept taking everything with him. 

"And…and…" Sora was thinking of something for his mother. If Riku was willing to pay so much he had to buy something his mother liked, too. 

"Sushi. Mom loves sushi." 

Riku nodded and took the box filled with sushi. 

When they were at the cashier Sora hesitated, pulling slightly on Riku's arm. 

"Are you sure you wanna pay all that for me? I know it's not right to have someone else pay all your food so…" He bit his lip, eyeing all the food. His mouth watered at the sight and he wondered when he had last had so much to eat. 

"Don't worry about it. Let's pretend I'm buying this stuff for me and then I'm giving it to you because I realize I don't like any of it." Riku grinned as Sora raised his eyebrows and then frowned to think it over. It would be all right if it was that way, right? And the food looked so delicious…his mother would be so happy when she saw all the things he brought. 

Before Sora could answer anything, Riku had already paid and was packing everything into bags. He handed one of them to Sora while he carried the other one, gesturing the other boy to follow him. 

They left and Sora's stomach was complaining even more now that he had seen all the food. Riku smiled and took out a piece of bread, pushing it towards Sora's lips. The younger boy blinked and parted his lips in wonder. 

"Wa—mphff!" Riku shoved the bread into his mouth and patted Sora's head. 

"Now chew and swallow before you starve to death." 

Sora was pouting at Riku as he chewed for being treated like a little boy but then his hunger took over and he heaved a contented sigh as he swallowed. Sometimes, eating was such a nice thing. 

They reached Sora's house then and Riku stopped, lowering his head. He placed the bag he was holding on the ground and let his hands fall to his side. Sora did the same and then they just stood there, facing each other. Sora noticed that he _still_ didn't know when Riku was coming to him and he felt he was going to explode if he didn't know it soon. 

The silver haired boy cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but it dropped shut shortly after. Sora watched as he licked his lips and he could feel himself grow warm and a little nervous as he saw it. It was like he couldn't tear his gaze away but looking at Riku's lips would drive him crazy. 

Suddenly the lips moved and Riku spoke. 

"Um…you know my mother doesn't want me to go anywhere…" 

Sora nodded, feeling anxious about this topic. Did it mean Riku wouldn't ever come? 

"But I don't care about that." Riku looked up now, meeting Sora's eyes and he smiled. 

"If it's okay with you…I'd like to come to you tomorrow, after school?" Sora's heart was pounding extremely fast and he wondered whether Riku's heart was also pounding like that because the silver haired boy was licking his lips nervously while he curled and uncurled his fingers. 

They stood for a while like that and Sora totally forgot that he had to answer. For him, it was unnecessary to answer anything because his answer would always be yes, it'd been yes from the beginning. But Riku seemed to wait for confirmation. As Sora noticed the self-conscious look on Riku's face he smiled. He remembered that Riku hadn't hugged him ever since they were at the ice cream parlour and decided that it was his turn now. 

Reaching out his arms he wrapped them around Riku's shoulders and pulled him into a hug, not as clumsy as their first one but still a little awkward. Sora felt how Riku tensed at the touch and he himself tensed, too, which made the whole thing even weirder. So Sora pulled away, scratching his head in embarrassment. 

Riku's cheeks were glowing and he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I guess that means yes?" He didn't quite look up at Sora but he saw that the other boy nodded. 

They waved at each other when Riku left and Sora smiled brightly, feeling like he would burst every second. He couldn't wait to tell his mother about the news and he sure as hell couldn't wait for tomorrow, when Riku would finally, really be in his house. He would have to make everything perfect for him. 

*** 

Riku stopped in front of the gates. He frowned. It was time to go into his cage again, this huge palace, this fake world. He had spent almost all his life inside those gates and now he was about to break the rules, break free from his mother. He had never done something like that or even thought about it. Of course he did wonder what it would be like to see the real world, to see how other people interacted when they were not at stupid dinner parties where those stuck up retards would talk about politics and the weather and pretend to be nice just to be badmouthing later. 

He knew he would have to listen to another one of those lectures about him being better than the rest as soon as he entered his home. He was being late again because he had accompanied Sora and his parents would always demand an explanation, which he had to make up. He would often use the girls in his school, telling his parents that they were chasing him so that he had to avoid them and take another way to get home. 

Funnily enough his parents believed it and told him to be happy to have so many girls chasing him. Not that he should get involved with any of them, because they were filthy low-class girls, but it was always good to be liked by people. That was what his mother always said. 

Riku sighed. He had to think of an excuse for tomorrow, when he would only come home when it got dark. He had to have a good explanation if he didn't want his mother to kick him out and see him roll to the other side of the town as she said it. 

However, a thought came to him and he smirked. 

"She said she'd kick me out if I talked to her like that again…she never said anything about throwing me out if I just didn't come home…" 

A childish way to justify his actions but why not? He could take whatever his parents wanted to do to him after he had been to Sora's place. Even if they threw him out, who cared? It would just mean he'd be free of this cage. 

Riku smiled, seeing Sora in front of his mind's eye. He couldn't wait to see him. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Theeeere you had your fluff! ^^ Yay Riku will finally come to Sora's house! And Sora's got a loooot to eat now. Ehh...okkei. You know what I realized? Riku's personality...about the whole 'breaking free and leaving the cage'... he's not as OOC as I thought he would be. Because Riku wants to leave his home, Destiny Islands, in KH, too, right? He's thinking of other worlds and stuff. So here he's thinking about the real world and wants to leave that fake world of stuck up people called home. Just realized that when I reread the whole thing. I didn't really think about it much when I was writing.  
Okkei that's it. I got nothing to say except for review, of course ^^ and be patient with me in case I don't update too soon... 


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Sorry for the delay, things are really bad right now *sigh* I'm also kinda anxious about this chapter... I dunno if it's any good. Read it and tell me how you liked it, ne? Thanks!

========= 

It was late afternoon when Sora heard the front door open. He was sitting in his room, actually waiting for his mother to come home. Now she was finally there and Sora stormed out of his room with a big smile plastered on his face. 

"Mom! Welcome back!" he called, running towards her to hug her. She caught him and laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately until he pulled away. 

"Gee, what happened to you? You never greet me like that." She looked around the room, then sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. 

"Hmmmm doesn't seem to be the loss of your innocence yet so what's up?" She grinned at Sora's blushing face. 

"Mom…" he mumbled, finding it embarrassing that his mother talked about that stuff like she was talking about the weather. It may have been like that to her but he wanted this topic to be handled more discretely. The woman, however, just smiled and patted his reddened cheek. 

"Now, now, don't be so embarrassed about it. You know, it's a natural thing and it will happen once you've found someone." She winked at him and purposely turned to the phone, hinting at his friendship with Riku. 

Sora blushed even harder at that but then remembered why he had run out like that. He had to tell her about all the good news. 

"Mom, guess what! You don't have to buy dinner tonight 'cause we already have it!" He ran into the kitchen and showed her everything Riku had bought. He had taken everything out of the bags and placed it in the fridge or cupboards, filling the kitchen. It was a very unusual sight to his mother's eyes but that was the way a kitchen normally looked. 

"Riku and I were at the convenience store today and he bought all those things for us!" Sora beamed at his mother but as he saw her expression, he abruptly stopped. 

She was inspecting the things rather suspiciously and then looked at her son with something that might have been disapproval or disappointment. It made him worry suddenly. 

"Did this Riku buy all of it? And you let him do that?" 

Sora winced and lowered his head. Of course he knew he wasn't supposed to do that. Especially his mother had too much pride to accept things like that. It was degrading in her eyes. But what about all the food? Sora glanced at it curtly and felt his mouth water again. He hadn't been able to eat these things for years! And Riku had practically forced him to take it, right? 

"Mom…I'm sorry. I know it's wrong and I told him so. But I was starving and he heard my stomach growl and so he told me to get something to eat…and he would pay everything. You know, I told him not to do it but he just did and…I'm sorry." 

He sighed and awaited some kind of lecture. Not that his mother would do that often, but he was pretty sure that she wasn't very pleased by what had happened. Even though he had been so happy before. 

He waited and waited. But nothing came. No hostile words or lecturing. In fact, there was only a chewing sound and Sora finally looked up to see his mother rummage through a box of sushi, chewing delightedly. 

"This is so good! You're so lucky to have a friend like him, Sora!" 

She ate some more and licked her fingers with dreamy eyes. "There's just nothing better than sushi! Mmmmm!" She heaved a long, pleased sigh, much like a little girl and stretched a little. Then she turned back to Sora and smiled. 

"You know we must pay him back for that," she told him, gesturing at the small oven. 

Sora cocked his head. "I know. He's coming over tomoroww, and I thought maybe then...somehow... But what do you mean…the oven?" 

His mother suddenly beamed. "He's coming over?! Awww so you had the courage to ask him? I'm so proud!" She started bouncing like a little kid might have done, waving her hands around to cheer. Sora just rolled his eyes at her childish behavior. Eventually she calmed and began to look through the cupboards. She mumbled something to herself and then vanished into her room. Sora blinked in surprise as she came out with a sheet of paper. 

"Had to get this," she explained as she made her way back to the kitchen. She dumped all the things she had found in the cupboards on the table and looked at the sheet. 

"Okay, Sora, look. These are my very special creations." She pointed at a picture on the sheet. It was a photograph clipped onto the paper. 

"That's dad…" Sora murmured, looking at the picture in wonder. 

His mother chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, that's him. But you see the things he's eating?" 

She then pointed at the ingredients she had taken out and Sora lifted his eyebrows. 

"Cookies?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Not just any cookies! MY superspecial Love-Love-Cookies! And I'm going to show you how to make them so you have something for our dear benefactor." She proudly presented him the recipe and then began to prepare for baking. Sora just kind of stared at her and then looked back at the picture of his father. 

"Love-Love-Cookies…?" he asked himself, seeing the expression on the man's face. 

"The secret ingredient is the most important thing, Sora," his mother cooed as she started to mix everything. 

Sora went to watch her and eventually she let him do it on his own. He was learning fast, copying his mother's ministrations until he knew how to do it. 

When they were finished, Sora raised his eyebrows. 

"And what's the secret ingredient?" he asked, eyeing the golden brown cookies. They smelled nice, he had to admit. But he really wondered what made them so special that his mother was so proud of them. 

The woman just smiled. 

"Well, what do you think?" 

Sora blinked. "Uh…." What _was_ the secret ingredient? How should he know? 

"They're called Love-Love-Cookies, so, it's the _love_ you put in!" 

She giggled a little and crossed her hands over her chest. "I made that up myself when I met your father, you know," she dreamily explained, sighing at the memory. 

"I haven't made them for anyone else before or after that." 

Sora suddenly shuddered, dimly remembering some parts of his childhood. There were times he didn't think much about his father but sometimes it would haunt him to no end. Right now it felt so strange to see that picture when he knew that his father had been gone for over 8 years now. 

He felt arms wrap around him and his head was tugged under a chin. His mother hugged him. 

"They're really special…so you must give them to a very special person, all right? If you love the person, those cookies will work magic and they will be the most delicious thing on this planet. You'll see." 

She kissed him on the forehead then, which was a little unlikely for her because of the motherly feeling it gave but Sora smiled and hugged her once more before letting go. 

"Thanks…" he murmured, as she patted his head. 

"Awww my baby's growing up so fast…" she pretended to sniffle and rubbed her nose. Sora chuckled and gave her a light, playful shove. 

"Heh," she chuckled and hit him upside his head while he grinned. 

*** 

The next day, Riku and Sora met in the morning, both excited to finally see each other in the afternoon. Sora had prayed for classes to end quickly and it seemed to have worked because nothing really happened so everything went by smoothly. 

Kairi was the latest gossiping topic because she was supposedly cheating on Riku with another guy. All the crazy fangirls were furious and showered Riku with comfort cards and stuff like that. 

When Sora and Riku asked Kairi about the whole thing, she told them what was really happening. 

"Well, I don't know why the rest of the school wants to kill me but the thing is I'm friends with this boy. His name is Tidus and he's a year younger...I think you know him?" She gave Riku a look and the silver haired boy nodded. Sora shrugged since he didn't know many people yet. 

"Well, and we're just friends 'cause I'm in the cheerleading team with Selphie and he's playing in the Blitzball team." She sighed as she showed the boys the death threads she had received this morning. 

"I don't know how they got the idea we're a couple. And now they think I'm cheating on you with someone else. Hell, I'm just friends with you guys," she whined, rolling her eyes. 

Riku put an arm around her in mock sympathy and smirked. "Poor Kairi, now you're being chased by the groupies, huh?" 

Kairi glared at him and then stomped on his foot. "Shut up! They're going to kill me!" 

Sora laughed as the two friends started to playfully beat each other although Kairi was much more vigorous than Riku. She even punched him in the guts. Sora cringed. Better not to make her angry. 

Eventually the day ended and Sora and Riku accompanied Kairi, playing bodyguards. 

"I'll make sure no one hurts you," Sora proudly proclaimed and Kairi giggled. 

"Aw, yes my knight!" 

Riku rolled his eyes and smiled. They went to the bus and Kairi got on, waving at them. 

"Thanks for coming with me, guys! Have fun now!" She winked at Sora and then the bus took off, leaving the boys alone. 

And so they stood. 

"So…" 

Riku took a deep breath and took Sora's hand. "Let's go." Sora couldn't help smiling and squeezed the silver haired boy's hand. 

Finally. The thing they had been waiting for. 

***

They arrived and for the first time there was no need to say goodbye in front of Sora's door. 

The brunet fumbled with his keys, a little distracted since it felt like Riku was watching him. Finally he managed to open the door and stepped in, showing Riku around. 

"So, first, this is the living room. The kitchen is on the left and the bathroom is on the right." 

He held Riku's hand and showed him the door to the bathroom. It turned out to be extremely small and narrow and Riku wondered how one could be in there without getting claustrophobic. 

The next room was the bedroom of Sora's mother. It was small, too, though slightly bigger than the bathroom. Riku was stunned at the size and furniture of this house. Without exaggerating, he could easily say that his room was about as big as the whole flat. 

There wasn't much to show so they got to Sora's room. 

The boy opened the door and sighed. 

"Tadaa, that's my room." 

Riku smiled immediately. It was the room he wanted to see. And it was just as he had imagined it the day before – only that it was surprisingly small. His bed had the size of this room. 

On the right, there were bunk beds. 

"I thought of taking the lower one out and put the desk there so I get more space…" Sora muttered, gesturing at the practically non-existent space. 

Riku shook his head. "No, don't do that." He walked towards the bed and sat down, careful not to hit his head on the upper bed. Sora raised his eyebrows and sat down, too. They were really close due to the size of the bed. 

"I like the atmosphere here…it's warm and cosy…" Riku murmured, leaning against the wall. 

Sora was obviously confused about that. 

"Cosy? It's more like a super little cage." 

But Riku shook his head. "Small places are often better than big ones. You'd feel lonely and empty in a huge room." 

This got Sora thinking. He had never been in a huge room so he wouldn't know. But what Riku was saying…could it be he was talking about his own room? Was his room so big that he felt lonely? And why was Sora suddenly thinking about being there with him to make him feel less lonely? 

'Argh! What am I thinking? Stop, stop stop…' he mentally scolded himself. 

And still he wondered what Riku's room was like and if he would see it some day. 

'But for now…I have him here…' Sora smiled and unconsciously edged closer, enjoying the feeling of having someone with him. 

*** 

At least twenty minutes passed. 

They were sitting close together, since that the bed was so small. Sora didn't mind, though. It was actually kind of nice to be so close and Riku seemed to like it well enough. They hadn't really spoken a word yet but just sat there, leaning against each other in comfortable silence. It was funny, though. Sora had imagined them talking and getting to know each other and now all they did was sit. He looked at Riku out of the corner of his eye and saw that the silver haired boy seemed relaxed, though he also looked like he was thinking about something. 

Watching the boy for a while, he noted an unfamiliar scent in his room, only to realize that it was Riku's. He couldn't help himself as he leaned closer, sniffing slightly at Riku's neck. It was something that smelled like flowers…lilies or something. And then there was also something bitter and musky mixed into it, which blended into a tantalizing aroma. It was probably a rude thing to do, Sora thought as he leaned closer, but the fragrance was so intoxicating that he wouldn't stop. 

"Mmm…'s good…" he murmured, inhaling more of the enchanting perfume. 

Riku tilted his head to the side as he felt Sora's breath on his skin and he chuckled. 

"It's called Dreamer." 

Sora blinked and pulled away, cocking his head to the side like a confused animal. 

"Huh?" 

Riku chuckled again and shrugged. "The cologne. Kairi gave it to me on my last birthday. I haven't really used it but today I thought…" 

Sora saw how Riku suddenly started blushing and he wrinkled his nose. Riku mumbled something, more to himself than to Sora and he seemed to blush harder at that. Sora just watched him with interest, noting how the wonderful fragrance filled his nostrils. If he were just a little closer to Riku… 

Suddenly, however. Riku turned him and leaned in, face hovering over his neck. Sora closed his eyes automatically and sighed as he felt Riku breathe against his throat. 

"Mmm…" he heard Riku and it sounded as though he was trying to find a word. 

Sora opened his eyes, smiling slightly before he gently pushed the other boy away. 

"It's called soap." 

Riku, who seemed to be a little dazed, blinked and then chuckled. Sora gave him a big grin, shrugging his shoulders. It was the truth. 

"Soap and…maybe some washing up liquid cause I've been washing the dishes and then I spilled some and it got all over my clothes and I haven't found the time to wash them so—" Sora was silenced by Riku's expression. 

He simply couldn't speak anymore when he saw the beautiful smile and those peaceful eyes watching him. 

Sora blushed and looked down. "…don't look at me like that…it makes me feel weird…" he mumbled, lifting his gaze for a second, just to drop it again. 

Riku just continued to smile. They remained silent for a little longer until Sora broke the silence again. 

"Shouldn't we be talking? You know...like...getting to know each other?" 

He tilted his head and looked at Riku with adorable helpless eyes. The silver haired boy shrugged and moved a little closer so that their shoulders nearly touched. 

"Then tell me something about you. I know practically nothing of you." He shifted in his position so that he was facing Sora now. It made the other boy a little nervous although he also enjoyed having Riku look at him like that. 

"Hmm…what do you want me to tell you?" he then asked, scratching the back of his head in thought. He didn't know where to start and what to say. Riku just shrugged. 

"Anything you want. Or better…everything. Tell me all about you," he purred, or was it Sora's imagination? He gulped at the sound and bit his lip. Riku shifted again and Sora could feel the small bed move which then again caused Sora to move, too. It was really awkward in the little space but no one complained. 

Eventually Sora hummed and opened his mouth. "So…errrmm…let's start with the basics…my name's Sora." 

Riku blinked and then shook his head, chuckling slightly. "Wow, now I feel enlightened," he answered, smirking at the younger boy. 

Sora grinned back and shrugged his shoulders, thinking of something else to tell him. Where to start? What to tell? He couldn't tell his whole life story, could he? But then again, was there anything to tell at all? He didn't really know what Riku would like to know. 

"Just anything you think I should know," Riku murmured, as though he was reading Sora's mind. 

"But I don't know what you want to know! And it's not that easy to think of stuff to tell!" Sora whined in exasperation, throwing his arms into the air, hitting the bed above. He groaned and sighed, hanging his head. This room was so frustrating. And Riku wasn't helping the situation at all. All the silver haired boy was doing, was sitting so close to him that Sora could feel his body heat invade him. And he was looking at him with those strange eyes – he seemed fascinated or something. Sora shuddered. Why did he have the strange feeling that Riku was going to cause him another nosebleed again? 

He sighed again, shaking his head a little to calm himself. 

"Why don't you just ask me what you want to know and I'll answer?" he then offered, hoping Riku would agree so he didn't have to think so much. Riku was blocking his brain activities. 

Shrugging his shoulders casually, Riku agreed. "Sure. " He then moved again and Sora's cheeks turned pink at the movements. He could feel every move Riku did on that bed and somehow it made him feel so strange that he clenched his hands to fists. It was maddening in this room, in this tiny space – so close to that boy. 

"Okay so…how about…um…" Sora watched as Riku put a finger to his lips, obviously thinking about a question. It looked adorable in a way. 

The boy drew his brows together and thought, hard. After a few minutes of nothing Sora lifted an eyebrow. 

"So?" he curiously inquired, wondering why Riku hadn't said anything yet. 

The silver haired boy frowned and narrowed his eyes. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking…" he hurriedly answered, going back into thinking-mode to ponder some more. 

Sora laughed right out, shaking the bed with him as he did. 

"Told ya it wasn't so easy!" 

Riku shot him a glare and snorted. "Yeah, whatever…" he muttered, concentrating to think harder. Finally, he seemed to have an idea. 

"Okay. Stupid question but… what's your favourite colour?" 

Sora cocked his head and drew his lips together, thinking for a short moment. 

"Silver," he then answered, absently looking at Riku's hair when he said so. Noting what he was doing, Sora quickly dropped his gaze and blushed slightly. 

"Eh…and blue. Silver and blue…and maybe green…or something…" he mumbled, knowing exactly that those colours were all colours he related with Riku. 

The silver haired boy nodded and tried to think of another question, though he was interrupted by Sora. 

"And yours? What's your favourite colour?" 

Riku smiled. "Sky blue." 

And Sora blushed again. What a funny coincidence that his name meant sky. He wondered if Riku knew that. 

They talked about various things, then. Riku asked some more of those standard getting-to-know questions and Sora answered them all before asking Riku the same. So, bit by bit, they got to know each other, at least superficially. It didn't matter much for real friendship, Sora thought as he remembered what his mother had said last night. Real friendship had its root in the feelings, not in the information you knew. 

"And what's your favourite animal?" 

Sora pursed his lips in thought and then smiled brightly. 

"Puppies! I love dogs." He grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. 

"That fits you…" Riku smirked, causing Sora to glare and then pout. He even stuck out his tongue and Riku chuckled. 

"And yours?" Sora asked, as he had done before with all the other questions. Usually Riku would answer quickly but this time he seemed to be at a loss. He frowned and began to think. 

"I never really thought about that…" he confessed, tapping his fingers on the bed. "Mmm…something small…I guess… that doesn't make much noise…something like…like…" He looked up at Sora. 

"A hamster maybe?" 

Sora burst into laughter. "Hamster?" he breathlessly questioned, laughing even more after he said it. Riku frowned and then scowled. 

"Yeah, what's so funny about it?" He crossed his arms and looked offended. 

Sora sobered a little and smirked, just like Riku had done before. "It fits you!" 

He then snickered at Riku's horrified expression – or was it a murderous expression? Sora didn't know and he didn't care, it was just too funny. He only stopped when a thought entered his mind. 

"Hey wait…" he murmured, rubbing his temples in an absent manner. "No…a hamster doesn't fit you…but you know what would fit you?" He was grinning cheekily now and Riku shrugged. 

Sora snickered again. "You're more like…like…a bunny!" 

It was hilarious to see Riku choke at that – and that glare – and oh, Riku attempted to tackle him – and Sora was lost in laughter when he did. 

The boys fell against the mattress, Riku's face hovering just above Sora's. 

"So I'm a bunny, huh?" he teased, pressing Sora further down. "Then how come I can overpower you so easily?" 

Sora was suddenly still and clawed at the bed sheets. Riku was leaning over him with his hands at the sides of Sora's head and his knee between Sora's legs for balance. He watched Riku's eyes widen in realization and blushed when Riku quickly scampered off him, sitting on the other side of the bed again. The fact that the bed wasn't really big didn't help putting distance between them and so they remained still kind of close to each other. 

Time seemed to stand still and the whole room seemed so awfully quiet now. There was an awkward silence between them and Sora was still half lying there, clutching to the sheets. He stared at the underside of the bed above as he felt his heart race a million times faster than it normally did. He was sure that if Riku didn't hear it, he could at least see it, that heart that was nearly jumping out of his chest. 

Riku on the other hand seemed calm. The only thing that he was worried about was his face and the annoying redness of his cheeks. He also didn't like the way his body reacted. He was partly paralysed – especially his mind was foggy – and he was trembling mildly. Sora was making him feel strange. 

The silence seemed to be so loud now that Riku wanted to cover his ears from it. How silence could be loud, though, was a real riddle. Anyway, Riku wanted to cover his ears, or better, hide in the blankets of Sora's cosy bed until that feeling went away. It wasn't like he didn't like it but he didn't know how to react towards it. It was completely new. 

"Let's get out of this room for a while," Sora suddenly suggested, sounding cheerful again. He pushed himself up and climbed out of the bed, carefully not to hit his head like he always did. 

Riku was still blushing so hard that he had to keep his head low to hide it. He only looked up as Sora extended his hand to pull him up. 

There was that smile again, that smile that caused his stomach to twist. Sora's smile was unique. 

"I have something for you," he announced, opening the door to pull Riku out. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Kay there was fluff! So how'd you like it? Good? Bad? Anything else you wanna tell me?   
Next chapter... we'll see Riku's reaction on the Love-Love-Cookies! Yay ^^ And maybe Sora's mom will barge in when they're having one of those nice moments... hehehe... and she'll also get a name now, I think. Since she's going to introduce herself to Riku. Yeah. That's it.   



	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Well...to be honest I'm not feeling well. There are so many things to do and I don't get to finish anything. I hope this chapter doesn't show my lack of abilty, though. Even though I feel like I can't accomplish anything at this rate I hope the chapter is still all right and you'll like it.   
I also apologize for the super long delay. I know it's horrible when people don't update for ages. gomen ne *bows*  
========= 

"I have something for you." 

Riku raised an eyebrow as he felt Sora tug on his hand. There was no time to contemplate the situation, or think about the ridiculous blush he had on his cheeks, for Sora pulled him along, through the door and into the living room. It surprised Riku again how small the whole flat was - his room was probably bigger than everything together. 

"Do you wanna eat something?" Sora then asked, pushing him towards the couch, ordering him to sit down. Riku obeyed and shrugged, still looking around the room. 

"Not really," he answered, raising an eyebrow as he found a small, framed picture hanging on the wall. There were three people. The boy was probably Sora when he was little. The man and the woman must have been his parents. 

Sora crossed his arms in thought and pouted. 

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" 

Riku shook his head again. 

"Really sure?" 

He blinked. Turning his eyes from the picture and back to Sora, he stared. Suddenly, he was too caught up in the way Sora's eyes twinkled and couldn't do anything but stare. It was like being hypnotized by sparkling gemstones. Riku silently wondered if that was the way people saw his eyes. They would often stare at him like he was some kind of magical being. They never understood that he actually hated being stared at like that. 

"Ehm…you know what? If you're not hungry that's ok. I'll get something for me, though," Sora eventually mumbled, shaking his head slightly as if he was trying to dismiss the disappointment. 

Why disappointment? Riku frowned at that. Had Sora expected him to be hungry? But why would he? 

The silver haired boy sighed as he heard Sora walking away. He had turned his eyes away from the hypnotizing blue gemstones and was now staring at the little photo again. He leaned back against the rest of the couch and watched in silence. The afternoon had been rather awkward and Riku wasn't too sure if he wanted it to continue. He had been so eager to spend time with Sora, to see his home and be alone with him. But now that it was actually happening, things didn't go as he imagined them to. Everything was weird and he found himself too nervous to act properly. The incident on the bed had proven that. 

The sound of something hitting the small table in front of him shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up from his brooding. 

Sora was cursing under his breath and placed a plate on the table. He rubbed his knee and sighed in exasperation. 

"Already two weeks in this house and I'm still not used to that table. We never had a table in front of the couch in our old home," the brunet explained as he wandered around the obstacle to plop down next to Riku. 

"Even if you're not hungry…please try at least one of them. Just one and I promise to shut up." 

Riku blinked and cocked his head in wonder. Sora was leaning back, letting his head fall back so he was facing the ceiling. He stretched and then relaxed, sinking completely into the cushions. Watching him, Riku pondered over the boy's words. His gaze wandered to the plate on the table where he spotted some cookies piled up. He raised his eyebrows and snapped his eyes back to Sora, opening his mouth to question him but he stopped when he saw Sora staring at the ceiling with an anxious expression. 

He would have asked him about it. He really should have. But then Riku didn't know how to do it, since he had never been good with people. Sure, he was considered the genius boy, an angel with the dozens of fangirls and everyone adoring him. But that didn't mean he knew how to interact with people properly, like people his age for example. All he knew was how to act in front of stuck up grown ups like the friends or business partners of his parents. He knew how to deal with his classmates - which was to ignore them most of the time and only flash them a smile to shut them up. A mere look was enough for them to be happy enough to feel special. 

But he had never learned how to be friends. 

Sora was still staring at the ceiling in obvious worry. Riku narrowed his eyes and turned once again back to the cookies on the table. For a while, he just looked at them, wondering where they came from. He couldn't remember buying them the day before when Sora and he had been at that store. Also, they didn't look like they were bought. In fact, he suddenly wondered if they had been made by Sora. But then again, how could he assume those things? Why should he? 

Riku sighed a little annoyed with his own thoughts and decided to fulfil Sora's request before getting deeper into his musings. 

He reached out and it was in that moment that Sora turned his eyes to him, watching him intently. Riku hesitated as he felt the eyes on him, feeling like he was doing the wrong thing, but then he took a deep breath and grabbed one of the cookies, bringing it to his mouth. 

It stopped right before his lips and he could see Sora watching him in expectation as he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. 

He ate it. 

At first he didn't taste anything but he figured it was because he was too caught up in his thoughts to notice anything but that. After some chewing he began to taste the sweetness and as he ran down his throat he found himself grabbing another one, as though his hands were moving on their own accord. 

Sora was watching with growing excitement, and his eyes seemed to get brighter with every bite Riku took. 

The silver haired boy ate some more, three or four, and then he stopped. He turned to Sora and opened his mouth. 

"You wouldn't happen to have milk?" He hoped it was not a rude thing to do. After all, he didn't know how to act around Sora. He couldn't be all polite and fake like he was around others. 

Sora smiled and sprang up from the couch. In no time he was in the kitchen and then back with a glass of milk in his hands. 

Riku smiled and extended his hand to take it. Their hands brushed as Sora gave the glass over to Riku and both felt the heat rise to their cheeks. Riku knew that he was blushing just as badly as Sora and he wished it would go away to save him all the embarrassment. However, it just got worse as the feeling of Sora's touch seemed to linger on his fingers, giving off a tingling sensation. 

Sora sat down next to him then. Riku drank a bit of the milk, then placed it on the table. He turned to Sora, eyes still cast downwards to avoid showing him the blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and shifted. 

Sora did quite the same and rubbed his head. 

"Um…so…how did you like them?" he awkwardly asked, swaying his gaze towards the cookies. 

Riku felt himself blush even more although he had no idea why he did that and just shrugged. He cursed his voice and its lack of cooperation. Why did he feel so warm? He had a strange feeling inside his chest and the room seemed to be a few degrees hotter than usual. This afternoon was definitely not what he imagined it to be. Why couldn't he act normal? Why was he acting like….like one of his fangirls…? 

Sora relaxed and shifted, getting a little closer to Riku. They sat next to each other and both leaned back against the rest of the couch. He didn't know whether Riku was comfortable and it worried him a little that the other boy wasn't saying anything. 

This day wasn't as it was supposed to be. At least it wasn't as he had imagined it. 

Sora bit his lip and frowned at the current situation. He had given Riku the cookies - which he had _not_ called Love-Love-Cookies simply because it would just make him seem queer. He didn't need his mother's strange ideas for something like that. 

Riku hadn't seemed to be too thrilled with the cookies, though. Sure, he seemed eager for them and he ate them but that was all. Not that there was anything else to do with cookies but Sora felt a little disappointed at the reaction. He could have at least smiled…or thanked him or said something like 'That's the best I've ever had!' …Okay, so that was quite unlikely to happen. Sora slumped his shoulders in defeat and heaved a sigh. This was _so_ not what he had imagined. 

Suddenly, however, he felt something creep around his shoulder and then slide down to rest on his waist. Sora blinked as he was pulled into Riku's direction, head involuntarily swaying towards the other boy's shoulder. 

His heart thumped in his chest but it wasn't faster than before. It just seemed louder, like a deep rhythm within him causing him to vibrate. It then occurred to him that it wasn't him who was trembling but that it was indeed Riku, shaking a little bit as though he was nervous. 

Sora licked his suddenly dry lips and he thought he heard Riku doing the same; and the sound of it sent a shiver down his spine. Riku's hand was moving up and down on his side, caressing him slowly and lightly. 

"What are…." He attempted to say something but the words died down in his throat before he could utter them. Instead, he heaved another sigh - this time it was a pleased sigh - and leaned his head completely on Riku's shoulder. He felt the silver haired boy lean onto him as well and then they sat like that for what seemed eternity. 

The cookies were still in front of them, on the small table. 

It seemed to be completely instinctively as Sora slid his hand onto Riku's thigh, running it towards and around his knee. He heard the silver haired boy murmur something unintelligible and wondered what exactly he was doing here. 

He hadn't been in a situation like this before. He had never been like this with anyone before, so what exactly was he supposed to do? 'Too late,' he anxiously thought as he felt his own hand play over Riku's knee. It caused Riku to shudder and for a moment he stopped his caress and shifted slightly. 

It was peaceful. 

The nervousness seemed to die down slowly and all that was left was calm and peace. They sat together, strangely comforted by each other's presence. Sora had never been so close to anyone save his mother or his father when he was very little. But this was different. It gave him a strange feeling of safety, similar to the feeling he had had as a child, but it was also something else. He suddenly could smell Riku's cologne again and it mixed with the scent of the Love-Love-Cookies on the table. 

Sora nuzzled closer and Riku did the same. The hand was still teasing over Sora's waist, caressing him with the ease of a feather. Strangely comforting, Sora thought. 

Riku felt the calm take over him and relaxed completely with Sora close to him. It was the strangest feeling but it was good. He couldn't remember when he had last been like this, if at all. He had never been held by his parents when he was small. His father had carried him a few times but there had been never been a real hug or embraces like he had seen other children doing with their parents. He had assumed it was okay like that. Later, he had seen the kids in kindergarten and school hug each other - but he had never been hugged. It hadn't bothered him, on the contrary, he was glad they didn't because at that time his mother used to tell him that those people were stupid and not worthy of his presence. It had worked its way into his soul then and he kept thinking like that. Not that he thought he was somehow superior but he just felt like he didn't need them to hug him. 

That is, until now. 

Feeling Sora like that, feeling someone close to him like that was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced. He wanted it to last forever. 

Suddenly, his eyes turned to the picture again and he saw the happy family. A woman, looking very young and childlike although she still seemed mature in a way, was holding a small boy in her arms with the gentlest smile a human being could have. A man was behind them with his arms around them, giving them affectionate looks. 

"Are those your parents?" 

Riku found himself speaking for the first time in twenty minutes although it hadn't been what he wanted to say. He should have said something nice, he figured, something that would let Sora know how much he liked being like this. But instead, his voice brought out those words. 

Sora suddenly pulled away and Riku felt like he had been burned, narrowing his eyes at the loss of warmth. 

Sora looked about the room, then came to rest on the photo on the wall. His eyes seemed to be distant for a moment and his expression became a little saddened. Riku couldn't help feeling responsible for the sudden change of his attitude. 

However, Sora forced a smile on his lips and nodded at Riku. 

"Yup, that's mom and dad when I was three. It's…it's the last photo we ever took. A friend of dad used his camera to take it 'cause we didn't have one." 

Riku raised his eyebrows. "The last you ever took? Why's that?" 

Sora shrugged. Riku waited for an answer but there was none. Instead, Sora just settled back on the couch and into his former position. Riku was surprised to feel Sora drape his arm over his stomach as he leaned his head onto his shoulder again. 

They were silent again. Riku chewed on his lip and wondered what they were supposed to do. 

"Mom said to keep it…so we never forget dad. She said that even if he's not here anymore…he'll be with us when we look at the photo…" Sora's voice was so quiet that Riku almost didn't hear it. 

It hit him as the words sank in. Sora's father wasn't here anymore. Did it mean he was dead? Or had he just left them? He couldn't bring himself to ask but he knew that Sora missed his dad. He squeezed the boy in an attempt to comfort him, although he didn't know if that was the way one would do it. He could only guess when it came to things like that. 

The peaceful idyll lasted for a bit longer but suddenly there was the sound of the front door opening. 

Sora's ears perked up and he wanted to sit up properly. However, his body wouldn't move and instead he just remained against Riku, inhaling the beautiful scent. Riku seemed to tense at the sound of the door but he wasn't moving either. 

Eventually, the door opened, revealing Sora's mother. She didn't seem to notice the boys at first and just flung her keys across the kitchen table as usual and proceeded to brush off her clothes and hair after a day full of work. She would have to go in an hour again, for her second job, so she needed to rest. 

Strolling towards the couch, she kept her eyes to the floor as though she was thinking over things. As she was a few feet before the boys she looked up and raised her eyebrows at them. 

She blinked and cocked her head, brushing over her messy hair. 

"Uhh…okay. One of you is Sora. The other one…ehh… last time I checked I only had one son, so am I supposed to know you?" 

Sora finally found the strength to pull away and did so, pushing Riku a little too violently so that it seemed like he was shoving him away in shock. 

"Mom! That's-that's-that's Riku! I-I told you about him, you know, the boy-we-and-" Sora stammered with the brightest blush on his cheeks, giving his mother nervous looks in a silent plea to save him. 

The woman could see that he was embarrassed by this all, probably because he didn't really know what was happening. She also noticed the plate of cookies, _her Love-Love-Cookies_ on the table. She suddenly felt a little sheepish for barging in when they were trying to be alone. Smiling, shook her head, walking over to Sora to pat his head. "Calm down, Sora," she chuckled before turning to Riku, who was trying to regain his composure. It worked and soon the silver haired boy was back - in all his glory. Sora's mother couldn't help noticing the beauty of this boy, how angelic he seemed. But something seemed wrong and she frowned. 

Leaning in, she inspected him. They were nose to nose and Riku looked like he was caught off guard, glancing nervously at Sora as the woman took a close look. He forced himself to keep calm and then looked back at her with his trained eyes. He was used to charming women, there was none who could resist him. It wasn't like he was that proud of it but it was a fact. A fact that wouldn't change.   
Sora's mother hummed to herself and then pulled away, much to the boys' relief. 

"Well, I don't like you," she simply stated, crossing her arms. 

Sora's eyes widened and he jumped up. 

"What?!" He couldn't believe what his mother was saying! This was Riku! How could she? 

Riku looked surprised and confused. He stared at the woman - the first woman who said she didn't like him - and frowned. 

"Why's that? What have I done to you?" he demanded, forgetting to stay polite. He covered his mouth quickly after his question and frowned. His mother had taught him to always be polite. He had to act like he always did. He had to use his charm. 

The woman snickered and then bent down to place a kiss on Riku's forehead, catching him off guard again. 

"There, there. Now I like you a lot better," she winked, smiling at him and Sora. 

Riku blinked in confusion and Sora stared in disbelief. 

The woman laughed and shook her head. "You need to be honest to have people like you. You were trying to fool me with your fake charm, so I didn't like you. Easy, right?" 

Riku couldn't say he understood. Neither did Sora, it seemed. The two boys just stared at her and then exchanged a look before shrugging their shoulders. 

Sora's mother extended her hand towards Riku and smiled. 

"Well, now that we've cleared that," she paused, running a hand through her hair to fix it, "I'll introduce myself. I'm Sora's mom. You can call me mom, too if you want. If you don't like that, call me Ryoko. Or simply Ryo. Or call me 'hey you!' 'cause that's what most people do anyway." 

Riku chuckled and nodded. As he took her hand, he felt strangely happy. There was something about her that made him feel happy and safe. It was like he was experiencing the presence of a mother, for the first time in his life. 

*** 

The afternoon passed rather quickly then. Riku and Sora ate some more of the cookies while Ryoko chattered to keep their moods up. When she left for work again, the two boys were alone but the awkwardness was gone. 

Riku was smiling a lot more and he was talking a lot more than before. Sora was less nervous and somehow they got along without any more awkward situations. There was only one incident when Riku insisted to share the cookies with Sora and began to feed him. Sora hadn't been able to hold back the blush on his cheeks when Riku placed that cookie into his mouth. 

It was late afternoon, early evening maybe, when Riku decided that he had to go. 

"Aww but do you really have to go now? You didn't even help me with my homework!" Sora whined, trying everything to have him stay. 

Riku smiled apologetically and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sora. I promise to help you some other time. Or just call me and I'll explain it on the phone." 

Sora pouted and crossed his arms. "But…" He then sighed and let his hands fall back to his sides. 

"I suppose you really do have to go…" he muttered, wondering where the boy was going to go. He still didn't know where Riku lived and what he did. He didn't know much more about him than he did before that afternoon. Sora sighed again. 

Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around him. Riku embraced him and nudged his head with his chin. 

"I promise to call you as soon as I get home, okay? We can talk then and I can help you with whatever you need… but I have to go home before it gets dark…and before…my parents freak out." He finished the sentence with a slight growl and it was obvious that he didn't like talking about his parents. 

Sora understood the importance of his departure and nodded sadly. 

"We'll see each other tomorrow morning, right?" 

Riku smiled. "Right." 

He was about to turn around and leave when Sora caught his hand. "Um… wait…" he murmured, forcing Riku to turn around again. 

The silver haired boy turned and found himself being hugged by Sora again. He wanted to smile but then suddenly Sora leaned up and brushed over his cheek. It was more like nuzzling his cheek but Riku thought he felt Sora's lips brush against him, too. 

Then, the boy pulled away. 

"Thank you…" Sora whispered, before looking down. 

Riku was unable to speak and instead he just squeezed Sora's hand before leaving. 

On his way home, Riku felt overly giddy and mushy. He didn't know what had made him so happy but he felt like he could take whatever his parents were going to do to him. No matter what they would do to punish him, he would bear it. 

So he walked home, quickly and too caught up in the happy feeling to think about anything else. 

When he reached the gates, he paused for moment and took a deep breath. The iron bars of the gates seemed like the bars of his cage. He pushed the button and they opened after he announced his return. 

Upon reaching the entrance of the villa, he saw two figures standing in front of the doors. It had gotten dark now so he could only make out their silhouette's from where he was standing. But his happiness was immediately gone, and all the courage he had brought up before faded into nothingness as he saw their expressions. 

"Get in," the woman ordered in her icy voice. 

Riku bowed his head and obeyed. 

The man raised his hand and it seemed he was going to strike the boy but he stopped before his face. Riku didn't dare to look up. He couldn't look at his father. 

"Look at me," the man ordered in a steady voice. Riku flinched visibly at it and shook his head. The man repeated himself. Riku gulped and looked up. He cursed himself as he felt tears well up inside him. 

His father scowled at him like he had never before. When he looked at his mother he pressed his lips together to prevent him from sobbing. She was looking at him as always with that cold and hostile expression. Only that now, she seemed to be glaring at him and it hurt him more than he thought it could have. 

They went inside. Riku trotted behind his parents, up the stairs towards his room. The servants were looking at them when they passed and Riku kept his head bowed. 

The door was opened and Riku went inside. His mother followed him but his father shook his head and remained outside. 

He left Riku and his mother alone. 

And that night, screaming and shouting hollered through the mansion. Riku was too exhausted to carry on and collapsed on his bed after his mother left. She had screamed at him with such a force. She had thrown half of his things out, telling him that he would follow if he ever pulled stunt like that again. She didn't even ask for an excuse or the reason he hadn't been at home this afternoon. She told him that she didn't care and in her iciest voice she declared that he shouldn't have come back because all he did was make her worry. 

Riku barked a laugh. Like she could ever worry about anything but herself. 

He sobbed into his pillow at the memory of her screaming and covered his ears to stop it. His cheek still hurt from her slaps. It was after midnight. He remembered promising Sora to call him when he got home so he could help him with his homework but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Sora was probably already asleep so he didn't want to wake him. Even if he wasn't, all Riku would do was sob into the phone instead of explaining the wonders of mathematics. 

Deciding that it was better not to call, Riku closed his eyes and rubbed his reddened cheek. Now it was not a blush but the mark of his mother's anger. He hoped to forget all the pain soon… 

*** 

Sora was hunched over the couch, waiting for the phone to ring. He had waited for four hours now. Sleepily, he turned his eyes to the clock. It was after midnight. His mother would come home soon. He shook his head. 

"I have to stay awake," he murmured to himself. Riku was going to call. He couldn't fall asleep. 

There was still one cookie left, one Love-Love-Cookie. He took it into his hand and lifted it to his mouth. Then he stopped. He smiled and shook his head, placing it back onto the plate. 

"We'll share that tomorrow," he told himself, already thinking of being with Riku. Somehow he was worried that Riku hadn't called yet but he would continue waiting. And even if the boy didn't call, they would see each other in the morning. 

Sora smiled sleepily and felt his eyes drop shut. Tomorrow morning...he could hardly wait. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Um okay.. well I guess you hate Riku's parents, right? Especially his mother. She's awful. *sigh* But there's got to be a bad guy in every story I write so yeah ^^  
Oh and tell me, was that chapter good? I think I need to pick up the pace now. It's been 10 chapters and nothing happens. Seems like what I did to Next Lesson is now happning here - just the other way round. I promise to pick up the pace now, really. There will be some real development in their relationship. I hope.   
Kay, that's all. Review to tell me what you think and what you'd like to read.   



	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Super crappy chapter, just so you know. I'm super ashamed. sigh... but my life's been strangely like hell lately so it's no wonder I'm not good at writing at this time. So, excuse the super long delay and super crappy attempt (notice how much I like the word super? lol) at writing what you want to read...or something.   
Anywayz. I picked up the pace! Yay! Not really.... well, a little. It starts out a bit strange. As a little explanation maybe... remember Riku having a fight with his mother at night? He hasn't slept well and hasn't called Sora and generally feels super crappy. So he's not in the mood to talk or do anything and thinks a lot on what TEH B!TCH said. Was she right after all? ...Nah!  
but now on with the story!

========= 

The next day Sora and Riku met as usual. It was 7:30 sharp and both had been on time. The only difference was that Riku seemed less enthusiastic than the last few times and Sora was a little worried about that. He had the last Love-Love-Cookie carefully wrapped up and hidden inside his schoolbag so they could share it sometime during lunch or at school when they were alone (which was highly unlikely). 

But seeing Riku like this: 

The silver haired boy nodded weakly at Sora's cheerful greetings. He barely looked at him when they talked. He didn't even move one bit when Sora tried to take his hand. Riku seemed contemplative for the entire time and it bothered Sora that he didn't want to share his thoughts. So much about friendship. 

They were in class when they suddenly had to do group work. Of course, everyone wanted to be in a group with Riku and the _charming monster_ smiled at everyone, shrugging slightly or giving a half nod so that he was answering without really answering. 

Kairi knew how uneasy Riku was with all the drooling fans and saved him, along with Sora. 

"Group of three? Well, we are three!" She took both their hands and threw them up, showing that they were already together. 

Kairi was in the middle, Sora and Riku on either side of her. It looked rather disturbing to most of the girls. The teacher, however, approved of that, since Sora was still considered new and inexperienced with this school and let Riku, the head-student, and the lovely girl take care of him. 

Grunts and mutterings followed. 

  
  
Right now Sora was listening to Kairi talking about something they had to do. Riku was arguing with her every now and then, telling her how to do it better. Sora was just quiet. He watched Riku while listening to Kairi. It got his head spinning and he shook himself a little to sober. 

"What's wrong, Sora?" 

Kairi had moved closer to him, placing her hand on his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever but you look kinda sick," she commented while touching his face like a worried mother. 

Sora shrugged and hung his head. He didn't feel like talking about his worries right now. Not in front of Riku, anyway. Casting a short glance towards the silver haired boy, he found Riku staring into space. He frowned. This was so unlikely for Riku. Also, he looked strangely pale, even paler than usual. What was wrong with him? 

He remembered the afternoon they had spent together. Sora blushed slightly at the memory of that pseudo kiss he'd given him. What had he been thinking? Nothing, obviously. His brain had stopped working the moment they sat together. 

"Hmm now you're getting all flushed, are you sure you're all right?" 

Kairi's words jerked him out of his thoughts and Sora nodded. Sure he was all right. Everything was all right. Everything except Riku! But he couldn't say it, couldn't ask him because Riku didn't seem like he wanted to talk. Maybe the kiss had been the wrong thing? Could it be that Riku was disgusted and hadn't called because of that? He had seemed baffled when Sora leaned in and done it. 

But hell, it wasn't even a kiss! If one could call that kiss… 

But then why was Riku acting like that? He was ignoring Sora, wasn't he? He was doing it on purpose! All the fangirls were able to get to him but not Sora. All the girls received those smiles, the boys got their nods, and he even talked to them! Everyone was happy. Everyone, except for Sora. And Riku, of course. Because despite those smiles, Sora _knew_ Riku wasn't really smiling. Riku was thinking about something. 

The bell rang and the groups hadn't finished their work. Kairi pleaded with the teacher to give them more time in the next lesson because Sora had been feeling sick during their work. Miraculously that excuse worked, probably because Kairi knew how to use her charm just as well as Riku. 

"We'll see each other later then," the auburn haired girl called as she ran off. Sora and Riku were left alone in the hallway, walking towards the door to the school-garden since they had an hour off now. 

They walked in complete silence as the noises of the usual school-life passed by. Not even once did Riku try to take his hand and Sora inwardly fumed at this. He tried to ask why Riku acted like that but he found that he couldn't. He couldn't when he looked at the silver haired boy, couldn't when his eyes met those deep enigmatic pools of green. It seemed every time Sora turned, Riku was pleading with him to go away. It seemed that way. 

A little frustrated, Sora began to stomp ahead, a little faster than before to put some distance between them. 

Riku tagged along, though and soon they were side by side again. 

Even more frustrated, Sora snorted and began to jog, so he could get away from Mr. I'm-too-perfect-to-talk-to-you. Riku however, managed to catch up again. 

Was the boy intentionally bugging him? Sora wanted to scream and he remembered how much he'd hated Riku at first. Well, he hadn't really hated him but there was this strange feeling inside him. On one hand he liked Riku, a lot, and he wanted them to be friends but on the other hand there was always this feeling of competition. No matter what Sora did, Riku felt like a rival. And no matter what Riku did, Sora wanted to beat him at it. Not that that was possible, Sora added. Riku could do everything and he could do everything so perfectly. 

This thought sent Sora into a fit of rage and he stormed through the hallway, wondering just _how frigging long_ this hallway was. He just wanted to reach the door to the outside. In his rage, he didn't notice the book lying on the ground and tripped over it, most ungracefully, and landed straight on his face. 

Some girl came running to him and quickly picked it up, apologizing hurriedly before running off again. 

Sora swore. He swore and cursed, using words he hadn't even known he knew. 

And the worst thing of all was that Riku was suddenly behind him, then in front of him, then over him. 

He was scowling and Sora was scared of it because he'd never seen that face before. Riku scowled his darkest scowl, or so the brunet thought, and yanked him up to his feet. 

"What's your problem?!" Sora snapped, violently jerking out of the grip. 

Riku growled and raised his arm to punch him, which he did not. He lowered it again and resumed scowling in silence. 

Sora noted how his vision blurred due to some tears but he wasn't crying. He was just frustrated with that stupid boy that it brought tears to his eyes. 

"You know what, just go to—" 

A group of their schoolmates suddenly stormed towards them, girls screaming and kicking about how they had seen Kairi and Tidus together, Kairi, who was supposed to be Riku's girlfriend. 

"RIKU DEAREST! WE WILL SAVE YOU FROM THAT WITCH! COME HERE!" The mass grew until the whole hallway seemed to close in on the two boys. 

Riku paled visibly because even though he could evade most girls, a horde of them was not very promising. 

Sora clenched his teeth and balled his fists. These fans were highly annoying. And he was highly aggressive right now. One wrong move and he would kill them. He really would. 

But then he felt this hand on his arm again and he glared, trying to pull away. 

It only occurred to him that Riku was a thousand times stronger than him and he was helplessly stumbling after him as Riku pulled. 

They ran through the only open way and there was only one door. 

Sora rolled his eyes. It was, of course, _not_ the door to the garden but instead there was a tag saying 'Janitor'. 

Yes, Sora thought, how absolutely fitting. They would just hide in this little crap room and beat each other senseless. Right. 

But the screaming mass of monsters was catching up and the only way was in there. 

Sora looked up. Riku was staring at him. 

Nodding, the boys pushed through the door and slammed it shut with a loud bang. 

Silence. For one second there was complete and utter silence. The loud noises of screams and feet trampling around dimmed down as they hid inside the little room. 

It was dark, too. Sora felt around for some kind of light switch. He had hidden in a janitor's room before with Riku, and it had been quite the same situation, but this was a different room. The school was big and they had a janitor's room on every floor, which would make three. 

"Here," Riku murmured, taking Sora's hand to guide it to the switch. Sora blushed and cursed as the light went on. Riku let go and leaned against the door with closed eyes. 

At least he had his eyes closed, Sora thought, ceasing his swearing. It would be more than embarrassing to be seen with this blush. 

However, Riku opened his eyes at that moment and stared directly at Sora. He stared with an unreadable expression, unnerving Sora somewhat. He didn't know whether he should punch him and scream at him or just try to be gentle. 

It was so difficult, this friendship thing. How was he supposed to know how to act when Riku was the one behaving strange? 

Riku lowered his head again and moved his arms up as well as he could, since the room was really small, and wrapped them around Sora. 

His eyes widened as he was pulled against Riku's chest and when their bodies made contact, Sora automatically closed his eyes. 

It was silent. 

A deep but unsteady thumping made his way to his ears and he frowned for a moment, wondering what it was. He noticed that he was resting right against Riku's chest and that the sound he heard was his beating heart. 

Unsteady? 

Sora wanted to pull away and look up, but Riku wouldn't let him. The rhythm was still unsteady, getting faster and then a little slower, then faster again. Was there something wrong with him? 

Then, all the little things became obvious to him. Riku's chest was rising just as unsteadily as his heart was beating. He was breathing faster than usual and he his body was trembling slightly. It couldn't be from nervousness, could it? Sora was getting more and more worried. 

"It always happens when I feel bad," Riku murmured, slowly loosening his arms around Sora. 

The younger boy was allowed to look up then and tentatively reached a hand out to place it on the boy's cheek. 

"It's nothing, though," Riku continued, taking Sora's hand by the wrist to guide it from his cheek down to his chest. "I've had it since I was a child. Whenever something happens that makes me worried or depressed I get like this…you know…like I'm gonna faint every other second." 

Riku finished with a chuckle and then sighed, leaning his head against the door. 

Sora felt bad now. He felt guilty for making Riku worried and depressed. It was his fault, wasn't it? 

Of course it wasn't, but Sora couldn't know. Sora didn't know about the incident with Riku's mother, of the sleepless night Riku had had then. 

The brunet shuddered and curled his fingers into Riku's shirt, leaning in to rest against his chest again. There was the thumping sound. When Sora listening closely, he could make out a faint rhythm no matter how unsteady it was. Maybe it was calming slowly? Sora listened closer, a familiar heat rising up in him at the closeness of them. He had felt it when they had sat together. It was the same feeling. 

Riku opened his mouth, trying to take deep breaths as well as he could. Sora could hear that he was not succeeding, though. What could he do to help him? What could he do to make up for what he had done? 

"I know!" Sora suddenly piped up, tearing himself away from the embrace. 

Riku frowned and panted softly, rubbing his throat a little. 

Sora bit his lip and slowly reached out to pat over the silver hair. "I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking over the ear. 

He thought he saw a faint smile on Riku's pale lips and it encouraged him a little. 

Putting down his schoolbag, which he had been carrying all the time, he dug into it to find what he had hidden in the morning. Now was the best time, right? 

His fingers brushed against something and he knew it was what he was looking for. Grasping it, he pulled it out to reveal something wrapped up to Riku. 

Sora grinned. 

"I'm sure it will make you feel better in no time." His words were much more confident than he actually was. In fact, he wasn't even sure if it would work at all. But it was worth a try. 

Carefully, Sora unwrapped the little present and threw away the paper as the cookie was revealed. 

"The last one," he remarked as he raised his hand to Riku's mouth. 

"And we'll share it as we are supposed to," he added with a smile. If only he could be as sure as he sounded. Inside he was shaking and if he had had a bad habit of biting nails he would have bitten off half of his fingers by now. 

Nevertheless, his hand moved and the cookie touched Riku's lips. The silver haired boy seemed a little confused and only slowly parted his lips to let it slip in. When it was halfway through, Sora let go and took a deep breath. 

Riku stared in bewilderment as Sora grasped his arms and leaned up, taking the other half into his mouth. 

There was an incredible sweetness and it wasn't from the cookie. Sora felt the softness against his lips, not quite touching but still. It was near enough and brushed against him with ease in a timid motion. 

It still wasn't a kiss, Sora concluded, but it was all he wanted. He loosened his grip on Riku's arms and felt the other boy take his hands to guide them up to his shoulders. Sora obliged and his hands came to rest around Riku's neck, feeling the tender flesh beneath his fingers. 

The other boy's hands travelled over his waist and Sora stumbled a little when Riku gave him a little push, closer to him. 

Their lips were locked. 

The cookie was getting soaked with saliva and even though the boys were breathing through their nose, they were getting short on air. Forced to breathe, the boys tore apart, gasping and chewing at the same time, not quite comprehending what they had just done. 

Sora swallowed his half of the cookie and suddenly his mother's words wouldn't leave his mind. 

    _"They're really special…so you must give them to a very special person, all right? If you love them, those cookies will work magic     and they will be the most delicious thing on this planet. You'll see."
_

He raised his eyes slowly to look at Riku and what he saw was the most beautiful scene he'd ever seen. He couldn't quite describe it, for Riku was too beautiful to be described with words. But his lips were damp and the tip of the pink tongue was running thoughtfully across the lower lip, his expression seeming as though he was trying to figure out the taste on his lips. His hair was a little disarrayed, probably because Sora had moved his hands into the strong locks without noticing back then. 

"I don't know…" Riku suddenly murmured, frowning a little. 

Sora blinked and cocked his head. 

"What don't you know?" 

Riku then smiled a little and leaned in to Sora again, bumping their noses. 

"What you taste like. I can't figure out what it is," the boy whispered, smiling. 

Sora pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling to think. Then he grinned. 

"It's just Sora!" he declared, grinning proudly. 

Riku laughed and hugged the boy, inhaling deeply. 

"Then I want everything to taste like Sora…" he murmured, tightening his arms around his friend. 

Sora smiled and tilted his head. 

He closed his eyes and felt the lips descend on him again, meeting in heavenly tenderness. A million thoughts ran through his mind when it happened. A million of them but none were coherent enough to grasp. He wasn't worried about getting caught – no one could come here during class. He wasn't even worried about the fact that he was currently kissing Riku, his friend, a boy, someone he had been angry with a few minutes ago. He also wasn't worried about what others might think about it because for all he cared, they could go to hell. The only one he wanted to care, the only one he needed to care was Riku himself. 

Sora sighed and Riku's lips moved, creating such a sweat sensation and friction. Riku, obviously, did care. 

Their arms assumed their former positions, Sora's on Riku's neck and in his hair, Riku's on Sora's hips, around his waist, and they moved closer with every moment. It seemed impossible to get even closer and the maddening heat made Sora's head spin. 

He never thought kissing someone could be like this. 

He never thought— 

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" a voice suddenly screeched as the door was torn open, ripping the boys out of the beautiful oblivion. 

Sora and Riku both pulled away in an instant, staring wide-eyed at Ms Gainsborough, their art teacher and Mr Strife, the new P.E. teacher. 

They gulped. 

"To the headmaster's room. NOW!" Ms Gainsborough commanded, sending the two boys a threatening look. Despite her gentle and calm nature she could be quite scary when she wanted to be. 

Exchanging a look, Sora and Riku hung their heads. 

"You heard her," Mr Strife murmured, giving them sympathetic looks. He knew Riku was looking at him with suspicion and shrugged to say he didn't want to answer. 

The boys trotted along with their art teacher, towards the headmaster's office. There they sat, watched by the secretary. 

The two teachers left without a word and Sora and Riku waited in utter mortification. What would happen now? Were they going to be suspended? Thrown out of school? Were their parents going to be contacted? Riku paled at that thought. He couldn't let them know about Sora! He just couldn't have them know about him! He didn't want to lose Sora… 

"It's all their fault," he muttered, heaving a long and irritated sigh. 

Sora blinked in his adorableness and cocked his head. "Whose?" Was he really that clueless? 

Riku snorted and crossed his arms. 

"Gainsborough and Strife. Everyone knows Aeris and Cloud have a thing for each other. They were probably going to make out in the janitor's room so that's why they…caught us…" 

Sora blinked again and then pouted in thought. He remembered Kairi telling him about the newest gossip. Two teachers were supposedly sneaking away during class to make out. Sora hadn't really believed it, after all gossip was just gossip. But if that were true… 

"Makes sense," he mused and Riku nodded. 

Now he cursed them just as much as Riku did. 

The door opened, revealing a man with shoulder length hair. 

Riku got up, standing straight and proud while Sora just blinked in bewilderment. Who was that guy? Wearing leather and three belts and that chain, he noted, a chain that was quite similar to his own one. 

"Get in," the man said in his monotonous voice and Riku obliged. Sora trotted along, coming into the headmaster's office. The man sat down at his desk, looking extremely bored, or was it angry? Sora couldn't figure it out because that half-scowl was kind of unreadable. He did notice the huge scar on his forehead though. What was up with that guy? He couldn't possibly be… 

"Now, as the headmaster I need to restrain you for your actions." 

Sora's jaw dropped. No way. 

"Of course," Riku answered with a slightly edgy tone. "But you should think of restraining those teachers first," he snapped, gesturing towards the door. "Gainsborough and Strife are..." 

The man merely gave him a look, again with that unreadable expression. Sora watched as he reached his gloved (what the hell?) hand to massage the bridge of his nose. Sighing, he let the hand slip and looked down at his desk. 

"Whatever." 

Riku smirked. For some reason he'd always liked Mr Leonhart, also known as Leon. He was a funny person with all his strange habits and rather un-headmaster-ish appearance. 

Sora scampered back into his chair, for he had fallen out of it at the man's response. 

"I will have to call your parents about it. They will take you home for today. Think about your actions and behave normal tomorrow." 

Riku's smirk faded. Not good. Not good. Calling his parents? Definitely not good. 

"Um, could we scratch the parent-call-thing? My parents are busy and they have no time…" 

Leon raised an eyebrow, seeing Riku's obvious uneasiness at the mention of calling his parents. He remembered meeting Riku's parents once and he couldn't say he liked them. Of course he liked almost no one but that was a total different story. 

"Well, I need to call someone," he concluded, not really enthusiastic but you could never tell with him. 

Sora frowned. "Will it do if we just call my mom? She'll pick us up and bring him home," he offered, casting a short glance at Riku to see his surprise and probably relief. 

Leon shrugged. 

The boys both smirked. 

"Whatever," 

the three said in unison and Leon blinked, then scowled at the boys. He stood up and pushed the boys out of the room, moving them towards the secretary. 

"Give her your mother's number and have her pick you up." 

He gave Riku a look, then looked over at Sora and nodded. 

"Dismissed." 

The boys couldn't help chuckling when their headmaster strolled back into his room, closing the door. 

"Sooo, what have you done to get a meeting with the living icicle?" Ms Kisaragi, the secretary, asked. 

Sora and Riku shrugged, not feeling like telling some stranger about their… whatever happened. 

"Just call my mom and tell her to pick us up," Sora muttered, handing the woman (who couldn't have been much older than himself) a number, the number of his mother's workplace. 

"Right away!" the woman, or was it girl, cooed. "I need your name, though," she grinned, looking at Riku. 

"Not yours, I know our super student." 

Sora sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sora." 

The girl nodded and began to dial. 

It took half an hour for Ryoko to arrive and she was in totally disarray when she stormed towards the headmaster office. 

"Oh no! What happened? I came as fast as I can?? What's up?" 

Sora jumped up and calmed her, pulling her so he could whisper in her ear. He didn't feel like telling the whole incident to that strange secretary. She was dressed like a Ninja or something. Weird people in this school were normal, he supposed. 

When Sora had finished telling his tale (he decided to call it tale because, really, things like that were just ridiculous) his mom smiled kind of proudly, almost smugly and eyed Riku. 

"Such a nice boy, too," she added, grinning at Sora. 

Her son was visibly humiliated by her reaction because he knew what she had in mind again. But then, he was happy that his mother was understanding and would not throw a tantrum about how to behave in school. Actually, they had got away pretty easily. Both his mother and that weird Leon headmaster hadn't been too strict. Lucky! 

"Okay boys, let's go home," she announced, pulling both of them on their ears to follow her. 

*** 

It was still early and Riku decided (after a lot of pursuing from Ryoko and Sora) to stay at their house until school was officially over so he could go home. Ryoko understood the situation well and made sure Riku's parents wouldn't know about it. 

The three of them sat together, Sora's mom had taken a few hours off from her work to spend time with the kids. She had left work, saying that it was a real emergency, and having a nice boss, she was allowed to be away for three hours. 

However, she noticed how the boys wanted to be alone and retreated to her bedroom with a smile. 

"Have fun, boys and don't do anything naughty on the couch," she added before vanishing behind the door. 

Riku blushed. For some reason he was completely transformed in this house. They were sitting on the couch again but Riku wanted to be in Sora's room. No matter how small and uncomfortable Sora said it was, Riku liked his room a lot. It was the total opposite of his own room and it was a million times cosier. 

"I'm sorry for making you worry and all…" Sora murmured, still feeling slightly guilty for causing Riku to feel bad. 

Riku, however, got up and pulled Sora with him, walking into his room without answering or showing any kind of acknowledgement. Sora almost thought he had done something wrong again. 

He watched the silver haired boy as he ducked into the (not made) bed, patting the spot beside him for Sora to sit down with him. The boy obeyed. 

"It's not your fault at all," Riku then said, finally sounding like himself again. Sora's hope rose at the tone in his voice. Riku was finally talking to him again! Sighing, Riku gently took Sora's hand and began to speak. 

"Last night when I came home, my parents weren't too thrilled with what I'd done. There was a lot of screaming from my mom and we had a fight. So… it's not your fault I had this…whatever it is. It's my mother's fault. It's always her fault." 

Riku absently stroked over the back of Sora's hand with his thumb while he spoke. 

"It shouldn't affect me like that…but when I fight with my mother it's always like that. I can't breathe, I get dizzy and then I sometimes throw up. It's like she makes me sick…" 

Sighing suddenly, Riku threw his arms around Sora, hugging him as close as possible. 

"…but you make me feel better…" he murmured almost inaudibly. "You're my cure." 

A smile touched Sora's lips and he felt his heart jump at the words. 

"Your cure…?" he quietly asked, a little uncertain of the words but smiling nevertheless. He couldn't remember why he had been angry with Riku before. He couldn't imagine how he could have wanted to get away from him because there wasn't anything better than being with him. So close to him. 

Riku pulled away and kissed his forehead, then tilted his head to lean his cheek against it. He smiled, too content to say anything else. Sora was satisfied with the response, though, and smiled too, leaning into the embrace with all his heart. 

So the Love-Love-Cookies had worked their magic, hadn't they? 

Ryoko stood by the door, smiling silently at the boys as she peeked in a glance. The first step had been made. But what hardships would they have to overcome? 

She frowned slightly and her eyes swayed to the picture on the wall, of Sora, her late husband and herself. 

"You'll help our little boy, right?" she whispered to the picture. She then smiled and shook her head, walking to the front door. 

"Sora, Riku, I'm leaving now!" she called, trying so sound as inconspicuous as possible. 

Sora's smile broadened, for he knew his mother had seen them. Nothing she did could get past him or vice versa. 

Riku chuckled as he heard Ryoko slamming the door shut to announce her absence. 

"She saw us," he murmured, a little amused though he didn't quite know why. Something about Sora's mom just caused him to smile a lot. But it made sense, somehow. After all, she was Sora's mother and they were alike. 

Sora hummed and snuggled closer. 

"Let me cure you some more," he whispered, nuzzling into the crook of the silver haired boy's neck. 

Riku felt a tingling sensation spread through him and placed a kiss on top of his hair, smiling as he remembered the taste on the boy's lips. Sora. Everything should taste like Sora. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Suuper crappy, wasn't it? Though I liked it a little... argh I don't know. I hope it came out all right, it's the best I could do. Considering the things going on lately. Seems like everything's getting worse and worse *grr* but I won't complain. Not here :P   
But see? Things finally start to develop! I didn't want them to kiss at first but I guess ten chapters of nothing deserve at least one little step, right?  
sigh...let's see what'll happen next. They don't seem to be ready for the love-of-my-life-crap so there will be some more stretching it I guess. More fluffy friendship with hints of being in love. THE CUTENESS! Yes. If I can write that, that is.   
For now just review, please? Pretty please? Super pretty please? Thankies! 


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Okay, now here we go with the *real* Chapter 12!   
So, everyone who's read **_ There's comfort in the silence when you're near_**... don't worry! It's not going to be like that in FFTFT! Like I said, it was something planned to be in here when I started writing it but then I got impatient cause it would take another, I dunno, 10 chapters to get to that point so I just decided to write something else.   
It is kind of in the FFTFT setting but that's all those two stories have in common.  
And about the line "Sora and Riku started screwing each other"...muahaha... That shocked quite some people, right? Well, it was supposed to have this effect. It even caught me off guard when I wrote it. But don't worry. It is a total independet little fic, just with the setting of FFTFT cause in the begining it says "Things developed..." which means they've gotten closer than just friends.   
Bah, ok, enough rambling of that.   
Now, on to Chapter 12. It's a little shorter this time. Warning: not much fluff. Just adding....plot? I dunno what it is. Not much happening. But maybe there is. Just read it! 

========= 

Riku had gone home after those few hours spent with his friend. Best friend, his mind reminded him. Best and only, when he thought about it. Fact was, that he hadn't felt anything like this before. Sora was the first person who mattered to him and who managed to be part of his life just by existing. 

Strangely, Riku's mother was not at home when he returned. Well, it wasn't all that strange since her schedule was always tight, filled with all kinds of shopping exhibitions to fancy malls in other cities or things like that. It had always been a riddle to Riku how she still managed to keep track of Riku's mistakes or disobedience. It was like, she was gone for the entire time, never there to congratulate him on anything he'd accomplished, even though he accomplished quite a lot because she forced him; but when he did something that could upset her and his father she knew it immediately and oh she would explode. 

Riku snorted and crashed down on his bed. It was so huge, so different from Sora's one. He still liked his own bed but thinking of Sora's room, of Sora's house and basically about Sora made him a lot happier than being alone. He wondered what it would be like when Sora came to his place. If he would think the same way as he did right now. Would Sora lie in his own bed and remember their shared time? Was he remembering right now? 

It was only afternoon and they had done their homework together, Riku explaining everything while Sora seemed a little distracted. They had shared the chair at Sora's desk, kind of squeezing each other into it until Sora decided to just sit on Riku's lap. 

Riku blushed. Gods, that had been embarrassing. He just prayed his body wouldn't react in some kind of way, because after all, he knew how these things worked. He'd never _really_ experienced things like that since he never got close to anyone but he _knew_ what happened. And the thought of getting Sora all freaked and panicked because of it wasn't exactly pleasant. Strangely enough, nothing of the sorts happened. 

Sora had sat there and they had shifted so that both could see and write what was in the book. It only occurred to them that they could have either taken a chair from the kitchen into the room or gone into the kitchen period, but that only came to them when they were done. 

Both had kind of laughed, a little embarrassed and a little…well, Riku didn't know. It wasn't exactly funny but just… Strange? Riku didn't know. It sure as hell had felt strange with Sora in his lap while it was all like an every day situation. The awkwardness between them was mostly gone, Sora didn't seem so nervous and tense around him anymore, not that he'd ever been it that much, and Riku felt very calm and reassured by Sora's presence. 

"My cure…" he absently murmured with a smile, remembering their kiss. It had been his first kiss. He had never thought of things like that before. Not even in the slightest. He had flirted with a lot of girls, teased a little, used his charm just to maintain the image. But he had never thought of actually feeling something. 

Then there was Sora and the bubble burst. Riku chuckled slightly as it seemed to make sense. Girls didn't interest him. Sora did. But he would never consider himself gay. More like, just not a sexual person. He didn't think about guys. Nor did he think about girls. He just…thought about Sora. Now more than ever. 

Curling up and rolling to his side, Riku stretched his arm to rest his hand against the mattress. His fingers danced on the sheets. They weren't exactly silk but something similar, feeling all soft and smooth. He had always thought it was a little disturbing since his parents had chosen it, much like everything else in his room, but now he found that it felt quite good. His pillows were fluffy, and he had a lot of them, the sheets were soft and basically everything was beautiful here. 

Riku smiled lazily as his eyes wandered about the room. His curtains were navy blue, just like his bed sheets. A lot of things were blue here and it only served to remind him of Sora again. But it was a different shade of blue. Sora's eyes were clear, sky blue eyes. He knew the colour and he could see it every time he closed his eyes. Sora's eyes were unique. 

Sighing, Riku got up again and plopped down on the piano stool. Yes, he had piano lesson tomorrow and he was less than enthusiastic about it. Still, he had to practice a little and so he began to play. Maybe he would play for Sora one day… 

*** 

The next few days were quite entertaining. Sora and Riku had to play bodyguards for Kairi, all because of that Tidus boy. Riku knew him, not well, but he knew who he was and Sora had seen him a few times, too. 

"Maybe we should just tell everyone that you're with Sora, so they shut up about us two," Kairi joked, nudging Riku slightly. 

Riku rolled his eyes but smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Kairi, they'd kill Sora if we did that," he replied, turning sideways to glance at his suddenly choking friend. 

"Hey, you all right?" 

It was lunchtime so Sora had been eating. But now he was currently trying to get the piece of bread out of his throat. 

Kairi giggled. "Aww, see what you're doing to him? You just simply take his breath away! Do CPR before he dies, or better, kiss him passionately to cure him with the _power of love_!" 

Riku's eyes widened and he was sure he blushed a little. He glared at Kairi and clicked his tongue, turning back to Sora to pat on his back. Eventually, Sora swallowed hard, emptied the whole bottle of juice and took a deep breath to calm. 

Half of the people were staring at them now. 

Riku sighed. It was strange how quiet it was regardless of the "Let's-kill-Kairi" campaign Riku's fangirls had started. Lately, Riku had been able to walk around in the halls without being chased by rabid girls or the boys who tried to be like him. Lately, a lot of things had gotten quiet. But Riku knew they were watching. He felt their eyes on him all the time, the drooling little monsters called girls that followed him even to the toilet (where he didn't go anymore after he'd seen that one crazed fan stalking him). 

But they weren't screaming and chasing him anymore. It was strange. 

"Hey there!" 

Sora, Riku and Kairi jerked their heads to see a certain blond accompanied by a brunette approaching them. 

Kairi smiled immediately and began to wave, gesturing the pair to sit down at their table. 

"Hiya!" As the twosome reached the group, Kairi got up and hugged both of them. Riku snapped his head to the side to see a few girls squashing their food and crying things like 'She even does it in front of Riku. How can she!' 

Sora noticed it too and gave him a look, saying that this school ought to have the weirdest people ever. Riku just nodded. 

Eventually the two teens sat down with the rest. 

"Hi, Riku!" the brunette, Selphie giggled, blushing a little. Kairi elbowed her. She giggled again and shrugged. "Hey, no matter what you say, it's weird to actually talk to him…" 

Tidus nodded at Riku and Sora in greeting, not really saying anything but all three boys acknowledged the other's presence. 'Guys,' Kairi thought, rolling her eyes heavenwards. 

Then, suddenly, Selphie jumped up and began to search through her pockets. She had quite a lot in that strange yellow dress she wore. She searched through everything, emptying the pockets to reveal a lot of strange stuff…charm bangles, rings, key chains…until she found _it_. 

"I'm Selphie, fanclub member number 2143! I would have been 2142 but this girl shoved me aside before I could get my member passport!" 

She held the card into Riku's face. It was a rather strange thing. A pink plastic card with hearts on it, and a text saying "I love Riku!". Then there was a picture of Selphie and her name and address, then her member number and something that said "I have taken the oath to love and protect Riku with my life." 

Riku raised one eyebrow. 

Selphie shrugged and stuck out her tongue in a sheepish way. 

The boy turned towards Sora, who was still staring at the card, and then turned back to Selphie. 

"Well…" He didn't know what to say. If Selphie was a member of his fanclub (since when did he have an official fanclub??) then how come she wasn't about to kill Kairi? She was even her friend! 

"Ah, before you wonder! I'm not that rabid! I just became a member because all the girls in my class did and…yeah…I felt like doing it too. You get a cool first time present when you join! See? That key chain! I like joining clubs so I can collect all those presents. You wouldn't believe how many clubs give away those things just so you join," Selphie rambled, smiling and showing all her stuff around. 

Riku cocked his head as he examined the key chain. It was kind of made of glass, with a photo of him in there. On the back it said 'I love Riku', not really surprising. 

Sora took the thing from his hand and studied it for a while. Riku watched how the boy's eyebrows drew together and he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. 

"Mmm maybe I should join this club too!" he then concluded, flashing Riku a cute grin. 

Kairi laughed softly and nodded in agreement. "Great idea, Sora! Then it would be official that you _love Riku!_" 

Tidus raised his eyebrows at this and looked at the two boys. Sora loved Riku? Like, for real? Or was it just a joke? Every normal person would have taken it for a joke but Tidus had this feeling as he saw those two. The way they looked at each other and the way they suddenly turned all kinds of scarlet shades didn't convince anyone that they were _just friends_. 

Riku was the first one to recover and he quickly waved them off in dismissal. 

"Yeah right, " he muttered, cursing himself for not coming up with some witty response as usual. That thing had just _really_ caught him off guard. 

Sora was still blushing as he noticed he was still holding the key chain. He quickly let go of it and let his hands fall into his lap, staring down at them. 

"I don't know why you always joke like that. It's not like there's anything between me and Riku," Sora quietly muttered, a little thoughtfully maybe. 

Kairi shook her head and smiled. 

"Aw come on, we're just fooling around here. It's just that you're his best friend and I'm happy for you two!" She then leaned over the table to ruffle Sora's hair, grinning slightly as she drew back. 

"Good job, Sora. You did the impossible." She stuck her tongue out at Riku while Selphie and Tidus chuckled. "Someone broke through Mr Perfect and brought us the real Riku." 

Riku wasn't quite sure whether he should be happy or upset about this remark. Broken through Mr Perfect? Brought the real Riku? It somehow scared him that Kairi said it. He never wanted anyone to see 'the real' Riku. It just wasn't any of their business. 

Frowning, he suddenly got up. 

"Excuse me," he muttered, sounding awfully polite, probably due to his habit to use this phrase around his parents and made his way out of the lunch hall, towards the toilet. He hadn't been there for a while because he was afraid of stalkers but he figured it would be the next best thing to being alone. 

"You should so follow him," Selphie insisted, blowing out her breath as she sat down, resting her chin on the palms of her hands. 

Sora shrugged. Part of him was wondering what was wrong now but the other part told him to just leave Riku. Suffocating him with being overly concerned would probably just make it worse. He was getting paranoid because of his fangirls anyway. 

"Let's just finish lunch," he responded and began to eat again. 

Of course he was concerned and in truth, Sora wanted nothing more than to run to Riku and ask him what's wrong and take away all his worries. But he supposed that Riku needed some time with himself, too. 

*** 

It wasn't until history class that they saw each other again. Unfortunately all lessons after lunch had been the ones where Sora and Riku were not in the same class. 

Finally, however, they were sitting next to each other again, along with Kairi. The three of them sat in the back row and were passing notes to one another as many students did. 

     _You're really close, though. I might get jealous (j/k)_

Riku read Kairi's note. 

     _Hey, you're the one who _broke my heart with that Tidus guy.. 

Kairi chuckled at the answer. 

     _ What are guys chatting about? Man, I feel left out!_

Sora complained as he saw Riku and Kairi passing more notes to each other. 

Riku turned and leaned in to Sora's ear. "No need to be jealous, love," he whispered, then pulled away with a smirk. All right, Sora was going to faint. He grinned and turned back to Kairi, receiving another piece of paper. 

     _You just said something naughty to him, didn't you?_

Riku just grinned. He loved doing that to Sora. He actually loved calling Sora things like 'love', 'sweetheart' and… 'marshmallow'. Yes, he had called Sora marshmallow for some reason and he did it repeatedly now. Maybe because he thought Sora was really cuddly and fluffy. Not that he had told him that. Sora would kill him. On the other hand…Riku suddenly started toying with the idea of telling Sora, just to see his reaction. 

Then, another message from Kairi came. He unfolded the paper, wondering what she was going to say now since he hadn't even answered the previous one yet. He read over the lines and the grin was wiped off his face at once. He stared at it and then turned his eyes to Kairi. Then they dropped back to the note and he reluctantly took his pen to answer. 

     _No… and please don't ask about it again_

He threw it back at Kairi and turned to Sora, who was busy scribbling and drawing doodles in his notes. Listening to the teacher was something they rarely did so either they were writing messages to each other or scribbling other stuff. 

Riku became entranced by the way Sora's hand moved whenever he drew something and then he noticed that Sora was sketching something. It was really awesome, too when he realized it was Kairi, Riku and himself he was sketching. Riku almost wanted to lean closer and inspect the picture but he was stopped by Kairi pulling on his arm. 

"What?" he quietly snapped, turning sharply. 

The girl glanced at the teacher, who was busy talking to someone in the first row and put away the notes. 

"You, there. Don't be so peeved about what I said. I just thought you might have thought of" 

"No," was Riku's only answered and he would have turned away if Kairi hadn't been holding him so tightly. 

"No is not an answer, idiot. You two are practically inseparable nowadays. And I've been telling you that he's special, I think you know that by now. So why don't you…why don't you just let him be the one?" 

Riku was startled by the words and stopped resisting so that Kairi could let go of him. He looked at her for a while and then opened his mouth. 

"He can't. No one can." 

Kairi frowned. "I could… I know it was more like…like I don't know what but hey…" 

Riku shook his head. "No, you don't understand. When you came to my house, it was like my parents wanted it. You were supposed to bring the decoration for the ball I was supposed to plan. My parents were for the idea of me, being the head-student, planning the whole thing for our school. And you were just someone who had to bring stuff to help me. It wasn't…" he trailed off, curtly looking at Sora before turning back to Kairi. 

The girl frowned even more but then decided to encourage her friend. After all, he _was_ her friend even if he didn't want to admit it. 

"Exactly, I was just _someone_, so it doesn't count!" She then realized her voice had raised and she quickly covered her mouth to whisper again. "So you should really think about inviting Sora to your place. Your parents don't have to know about it. Maybe sometime when they're gone or something. Let Sora be the first one, the one and only if you want. I know it would make him happy and it would make you happy, too. Trust me, Riku, trust me just once." 

She gave him a look then, almost pleading with him. 

Riku frowned and cocked his head. "Just once? I always trust you, Kairi," he softly whispered, wondering when he had gotten so emotional and involved with the girl. At first their relationship had been completely different. But now…It had all started when Sora entered their lives. They were more and more becoming friends. 

Kairi smiled, blushing slightly at the honest words, which she really hadn't expected. She turned back in her seat and lowered her head. 

"Thanks," she whispered and smiled yet again. 

Riku felt strangely comforted by her smile and wondered what this feeling was. It wasn't as strong as the thing he felt for Sora but he did feel something for Kairi, too. Maybe he was just finally beginning to see her as a friend. 

'Friend…' he thought and remembered the sketch Sora had been doing. It was a picture of the three of them. 

Riku leaned over and saw that Sora was almost done now. It looked absolutely breathtaking. Riku himself was quite a good artist but he never thought that Sora could draw that well. It was…absolutely fantastic. 

Sora noticed Riku's head on his shoulder and came out of his daze. He seemed to have been lost in thoughts when he drew the picture. He smiled faintly at the feeling and Riku's scent near him and tilted his head to look at the boy. 

"I thought I might busy myself so I don't get jealous," he joked, though it seemed there was a bit of truth to it, too. Riku smiled back and then looked around the classroom to find everyone busy with something. He mentally nodded to himself and leaned in to nuzzle Sora's cheek. No need to arouse suspicion and get sent to the headmaster again. 

"You're just amazing, love," Riku whispered before quickly pulling back. Luckily everyone was still busy and the fact that they sat in the last row, where no one really noticed anything, they could get away with things like that. 

Sora rolled his eyes and grinned. 

"I know, my hunny bunny," he cutely answered, winking and then sticking his tongue out. 

Riku chuckled and played it off as a joke, but deep inside, he did feel his heart jump at Sora calling him this. He would have killed everyone else saying something like that to him but Sora…when Sora said it, it made him giddy. 

Kairi's words floated in his head again. 'Let him be the first one, the one and only'. He shuddered at those words. First one for what? First one being able to talk to him without turning into a puddle or screaming like his fans. First one who received his private phone number, even on the first day. First one managing to make them end up late for school. First one inviting him to his home. First one who kissed him. First one…who would come to his own home some day? 

The bell rang and the sounds of chattering students indicated that it was time to go home. It had been the last lesson for both Sora and Riku, so they found themselves at the gates, making their way down the street. Riku was accompanying Sora as usual and all the time Sora had always wondered where Riku lived. He still didn't know. After everything he knew about Riku, he didn't know that one detail. 

They passed the convenience store and it was time to say goodbye as they were soon standing in front of Sora's house. 

It did bother Sora, then. It bothered him that he didn't know why Riku had left after lunch and it bothered him that he didn't know where Riku lived. 

"You're going to come over to my place sometime," Riku suddenly said and it sounded so casual and normal that Sora almost thought he had said something different. 

So he just nodded. "Yeah, sure." Whatever Riku had said, it couldn't have been _that_. 

Riku smiled but it was just…strange. Not really honest, maybe. "Cool. Maybe in a few days, then." 

He spread his arms and Sora smiled, hugging him before they kissed (on the cheek, because after that closet incident they hadn't really done anything) and Riku turned to walk home. 

It only became obvious to Sora what had happened when Riku was around the corner and out of view. His eyes widened and he replayed the scene before his eyes, trying to regain his wits. No doubt Riku had just invited him to his place. No doubt Sora had casually agreed. 

Sora gulped. Why was his heart suddenly jumping out of his chest? 

Riku had to support himself on the wall before he kept on walking. Had he really just invited Sora over? Was he that insane already? Sure, his parents would be away for some time but would it be enough to have Sora there? And what about the servants? They would see. He couldn't just tell them all to go away. Well, he could, they worked for him after all, but somehow this all seemed so much more complicated than it sounded. 

"Sora…in my house…" 

Riku was sure his knees gave in and he quickly stumbled through the streets to get home before he fainted. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Sorry about the jumping over days. Well, maybe you even like it, I don't know. I just figured I need to stop writing 5 chapters about one day or something and just speed it along a bit ^^  
So yeah, not much fluff in this chapter I guess. Kairi's being all nice and supportive, right? I won't bash her anymore I think. I still don't like her laughter but o-kay, she's kind of dead for most of the game so who cares. Let's just say she's being a good friend here.   
And about the jealousy part someone suggested... well, maybe I'll get to this. Not with Tidus, though, I think. Sora and Tidus? Seems nice but I don't think I'll have it in this fic. More like Riku and Kairi. Not really but Sora may see it that way sometime. Or maybe it's Sora Kairi and Riku gets jealous? I like those three in a love trianlge... but SoraxRiku has to win eventually cause THEY'RE MADE FOR EACH OTHER! *waves little flags which say Sora *heart* Riku*  
Okay for now. Just review or something. Blah. And sorry about the mess before. This is the *real* chapter 12 ^^ 


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Yeah, long delay but here's chapter 13! Here we go... I had this idea which some of you might have already read about in my journal. Now I'm using it. I hope you like it, it's gonna be pretty funny I guess ^^   
So, the chapter is also faintly fluff so I hope you'll like it

========= 

At home, things were as usual. Riku found a dozen of maids surrounding his mother while she chattered and ordered people around. No doubt she was planning another dinner party. 

When she saw Riku, she gladly ignored him, only giving him a short glance before turning away to scream at some clumsy maid who had spilled some water. Riku was glad about it though he did feel sorry for the maid. He always felt sorry for those servants, being ordered around and screamed at just because mother couldn't do things herself. He wondered how she had grown up and realized that he didn't know much about his mother. He had never bothered with it before, thinking it was irrelevant because mother was mother, a person with an icy glare and a deafening voice. Who cared about that woman, anyway? 

He made his way upstairs, intending to hide in his room (as usual) but when he strolled along the corridor, he stopped in front of his father's office room. Yes, there was a special room, which was about twice as big as Riku's (and that meant a lot) and it was labelled "Office" because that's what it was. Riku had only been in there once, when he was very little. He didn't remember much of it, though. It had always been a rather mystical room, seeing his father vanish into it after he came home from work, often because he didn't want to deal with the woman he married. Riku envied his father for this room. He could hide himself in there while Riku had to bear his mother's rage and fury, unable to be anywhere but in his room, which was never locked. 

The door seemed magical and Riku found himself tracing his hand over the wooden surface. It made of old wood, probably very antique. Most of the furniture in this house, or maybe one should call it palace, was either made of antique wood or it was the newest and trendiest piece of design on the market. Even though it might have seemed very chaotic due to the mix of old and new, it still blended perfectly and served as a good demonstration of their wealth. 

His hand stopped suddenly as he heard someone speak. It was his father's voice and he was arguing with someone, though this someone had no voice. Riku figured his father was talking on the phone. Why he was at home at this time, he didn't know. Usually he would be at work, wherever that was – Riku found that he did not know much about his father, either. His schedule had always been tight, his parents had always told him to do this and that so he never had much time to think about things. 

"Well, I don't think this is going to work! You can't sue a company when you've got nothing against it!" 

Riku started at the angry voice. He had never heard his father yell like that. He had never seen his father angry for the matter. 

"Yes, I do know whom I'm talking to! But I believe you have no idea—what? Of course! …Right. Exactly." 

Riku listened closer, leaning his ear against the door in hope to get more information. He knew it wasn't allowed to eavesdrop, and he wouldn't be able to hear the other person's voice anyway, but he wanted to hear more of his father. 

Unfortunately, the conversation had ended. There was a shuffling of feet in the room and Riku narrowed his eyes, as the sound seemed to get louder. Louder. And louder. And— 

"Woah, what are you doing here?" 

Riku stumbled right against his father when the door suddenly swung open, causing him to lose balance since he'd been leaning against it completely. 

The boy quickly straightened himself and bowed his head as he was used to. 

"Excuse me. I…I was just on my way into my room..." he mumbled, not really looking up when the man cleared his throat. 

"Son, your room's on the other side of the corridor." There was a hint of amusement in his deep baritone and Riku flinched slightly at the comment. 

"I know," he simply stated, trying to make it sound casual, as if it didn't mean anything at all. 

The man chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. Then he sobered and looked serious. 

"You know, I've been really angry when you came home that evening." 

This caused Riku to look up. "Angry?" He remembered _that evening_. He had come home from Sora's to find his parents waiting for him outside. It had been painful to see their faces. 

"Yup, pretty angry. But you know what? I wasn't mad at you. I was angry with myself because I couldn't do anything. You know, what would have happened if someone kidnapped you, or someone killed you?" 

Riku wrinkled his nose and folded his arms. "Who would do that?" He sounded incredulous and in a way he seemed childlike, maybe naïve. Living like a spoilt brat had influenced his way of thinking a lot. 

His father shook his head but smiled. "A lot of people, Riku. You're famous; you're the son of a rich guy. Everyone would want you, and not only for nice things. But you know, that day, when you didn't come home after school, I found myself thinking: What's the point in all the money if you have no power to find your own son? I didn't know where to look, didn't know where to find you. And my money couldn't tell me either." 

He paused, giving Riku a thoughtful look. 

"Just be sure to tell us where you go when you decide to vanish." 

Okay, this was strange. Riku couldn't quite understand why his father was talking like that. He couldn't quite understand why his father was talking to him period. Sure, he had talked to him quite often when he was little but things had changed and Riku was always busy with studying or social training (he liked to call it that) so that nothing really happened between them. But at least there was more of a connection than between him and his mother. 

"Uh…okay," he eventually answered, shrugging his shoulder slightly. He then remembered the slight problem he had. Kairi told him to invite Sora to his place. He had done that. Sora was expecting to go there now, wasn't he? But could Riku really do that? He wasn't sure whether bringing someone to this palace was such a great idea. Asking his father about it wasn't an option. Even if they had just had some kind of conversation, it wouldn't do any good to bring up the topic of having a _friend_ come over, right? After all, father or not, this man was of the same opinion as Riku's mother. Or could he actually talk to him about it? Riku was tempted and just when he was about to open his mouth, he was cut off. 

"Well, then. I have to leave now, business, you know." 

The man made a motion with his hand to signalise Riku to leave, too. He looked over Riku's shoulder for a moment, seeming as though he had just thought of something, then turned around to the office again. The door to the office was shut before Riku could take a look and so the room remained mystery. It bothered Riku just a tiny bit. 

The silver haired boy watched how his father went to the stairs, turning around just once to wave at his son before leaving for good. 

He sighed. Strangely enough, Riku felt good now. Better than before. Even when heard the screams of his mother, who was scolding another servant, he did feel better after the little talk with his father. At least the speech the man had given proved that he cared. 

*** 

It was almost midnight and Sora finished washing his clothes. It wasn't like he had to do it but seeing the piles of clothes riled up in the bathroom, which was already small enough even without the dirty laundry, Sora felt like making himself useful. It took him a while to finish but at last he managed to wash the last one of his clothes, now only needing a place to hang them up so they could dry. 

Turning to the clock, he saw that it was exactly 11:50. Only ten minutes before it was midnight, meaning that he would again only get six hours of sleep. On the other hand, he never slept long, probably because he was used to getting up early. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. The bed seemed such a nice place now. 

He wrung the wet clothes, causing the water drip onto the tiled floor of the bathroom. He looked around for a place to hang them up but he found nothing. He wondered where his mother always left them to dry and he noticed that he didn't know at all. 

Sora groaned. "Okay, I give up," he exclaimed, throwing the clothes back onto the floor, where they lay messy as ever. He always wondered how his mother did things. It was always like she could use magic or something. Maybe his mother was a fairy. 

Sora laughed at that thought, imagining his mom in a pink tutu and a magic wand in her hand. Not something he wanted to think of before going to sleep. 

He suddenly yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. His eyelids were heavy and the more he moved, the sleepier he got. Concluding that it was definitely time to sleep, Sora walked out of the small bathroom. When he was about to enter his room, he heard the phone ring. 

Of course, it could only be one person. 

"Riku!" he happily exclaimed as sprang towards the phone, forgetting his sleepiness. He hastily picked up. 

"Hi!" he cheerfully greeted the boy. 

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be awake," the boy on the other side of the line answered. He seemed tired himself, just like Sora had been before. 

Sora chuckled and rubbed his eyes out of habit and not because he was tired. "I was just about to sleep but hey, I can scratch that if you want." Oh and how he hoped Riku wanted it. He would gladly talk with him instead of sleeping. There was nothing better than Riku. 

But the silver haired boy shook his head and although Sora couldn't see it, he kind of felt it. 

"Oh, no, go to sleep. You need it. I just… wanted to call to say goodnight…" He paused; then smiled. "..marshmallow," he added, grinning sleepily. He could picture Sora in his mind with that adorable pout on his face and those rose lips curling in mock anger. 

And really, Sora pouted, feeling a bit humiliated to be called something as that. However, the way Riku had those nicknames for him was sweet. Sweet, Sora thought, smiling brightly. Everything Riku did was sweet. And Riku and his reasons for calling were always the sweetest. He remembered their first conversation on the phone, Riku's reason being that he just wanted to hear his voice. 

Sora melted every time he thought of it. 

"So… sweet dreams, Sora," the silver haired boy mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed. 

Sora grinned. "That means I'll dream of you," he replied, smirking slightly as he heard Riku choke. "..hunny bunny," he added, bursting into laughter as he could see Riku in front of his mind's eye. The boy was probably choking and glaring now, being called something like that. But Sora loved to call Riku hunny bunny. 

"Tse…you better dream of me, marshmallow. I dare you to dream of anyone but me." 

For some reason that reply caught Sora off guard and he was sure he was blushing as hard as one could. 'I'd never dream of anyone but you,' was what he was thinking but he couldn't voice his thoughts, couldn't tell Riku what he really felt. It would be too embarrassing. Because boys just didn't do that, right? 

"Goodnight, then…" Riku eventually mumbled after not getting any response from Sora. 

Sora sighed and tightened his grip on the receiver. He didn't want to hang up yet. Even though he was extremely tired he still wanted to talk to Riku if he couldn't be with him for the night. Somehow he wanted just to be near him, cost it what it may. 

Things weren't so easy, though. 

"I wish we could spend more time together…" Sora absently murmured, not quite aware of the fact that he did. 

There was a questioning sound on the other side of the line, causing Sora to realize what he had said. 

"Uh, no! I mean… I meant… like…" he stopped again, noting that he couldn't come up with a good cover up for his little mistake. But who knew, maybe it wasn't such a mistake? Because Riku and he were friends, right? And friends ought to spend time with each other. If he just knew what Riku thought about the whole thing. 

"I know what you mean…" Riku trailed off. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment but then quickly gathered his wits. "We really gotta hang up, though, or else we're gonna be late again." No matter how hard it was to actually hang up, they had to do it. Or they would be sent to the headmaster's office again. 

Sora understood that and nodded. He smiled and lightly kissed the receiver, so lightly that Riku wouldn't hear it. 

"Night, Riku," he whispered. 

Riku smiled and kissed the receiver, too even though he wasn't aware that Sora had done the same. 

"Night." 

*** 

The next morning, Sora nearly overslept but thanks to Riku who pounded on the door, he woke up right on time, dressing in super speed to get ready for school. 

School was boring as usual. Sora wondered what they were supposed to learn from that stupid institution. Half of the people here were lunatics anyway. Including the headmaster and his secretary. Because thanks to some fangirl attack, Riku and Sora had to get to the principal's office again. Not because they had caused trouble but because Leon had to save them from the pack of rabid fans. It was strange, though. The girls had only been in a pack of six girls – one would think two boys could handle them – but they had been extremely hyper and nasty, so Riku was rather afraid of them. Something about this all was wrong; they were all behaving strange. Like they were planning something, and Sora had the strange feeling that it had something to do with Kairi. 

Back to the other lunatics, though. That leather-clad figure that was supposed to the head of this crazy house kind of scared Sora. With his ever-lasting scowl and indifferent voice he was like a robot or something. He was incalculable. And Sora half expected him to suddenly freak out and roar around like a lion when he sat there, unmoving. 

Ms Kisaragi, that nosy secretary who, in fact, wasn't more than 2 years older than Sora, was also strange. She seemed to be rather hyper at times and Sora noticed that she wandered around the building quite often, kind of patrolling or something. She probably had too much time on her hands. Sora even suspected her to go hunting for things pupils left. She seemed like the type to be a thief… 

Those two aside, the rest of the school was full of Riku's fans, all of them having the now very popular member ID card, one similar to Selphie's and there was an official Riku-lover committee. 

All in all, things were pretty crazy. 

"Today, we are going to start our project, which I have been talking about last week. We will need to make posters and fliers. Some of you have already designed and printed them, now someone has to put the pieces together since it's going to be one big poster." 

Sora's ears perked up as he heard the words 'project' and 'last week'. He quickly leaned over to Riku and nudged the boy. 

"Hey, hey, what's he talking about?" 

Riku shrugged and turned to Kairi. "Yeah, what's the guy talking about?" 

Kairi rolled her eyes and heaved a long sigh. She then turned to both Sora and Riku and shook her head. 

"That's what you get for playing lovebirds instead of listening." 

Sora and Riku blushed. 

"We do not—" But they were cut off by the teacher. 

"Now, how about you two, there in the back row? Since you're talking anyway, how about getting to work?" 

Riku twitched slightly. He hated being caught chatting. It ruined his reputation. Sora, however, nodded vigorously and smiled. 

"Sure! That's gonna be fun, come on, Riku!" He practically jumped up from his seat and dragged Riku along as he made his way towards the big table on the side where the posters were lying. 

A lot of students snickered at Riku's annoyed expression and the girls all giggled how cute Riku looked. Sora had to admit that he thought so, too, when he glanced at the sulking boy he was dragging. 

They reached the table and began to work as others were assigned to various works to complete the preparation for this project. 

"Science Week," Sora read aloud as he looked at one of the posters. 

"That our project?" He poked Riku, who was standing next to him with crossed arms, glaring at nothing in particular. The silver haired boy shrugged. 

Sora rolled his eyes and sighed, taking the glue to start working. 

"Hey…" He raised his eyebrows, as something seemed to leak onto his hands. Riku turned his attention to his friend and watched with a raised eyebrow as Sora started messing around with the glue in his hand. 

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, watching incredulously as Sora seemed to manage to glue his own hands together. Either Sora was acting stupid or he really was that stupid. Riku actually doubted either of it but what was the boy doing then? 

Sora pouted and glared at Riku. "Well, help me, idiot! This thing is leaking and I can't get it off me," he complained in pure anguish. It seemed, the glue stuck to his hands like…well, glue. 

Riku rolled his eyes heavenwards. 

"I can't believe you're so clumsy," he muttered under his breath as he reached out to help his friend. He felt the liquid drip onto his hands and he was immediately alarmed as it seemed to get smeared over his palms. He cursed and quickly reeled back but it was too late, for the glue was already on his hands. 

Sora, meanwhile, managed to get his hands free from the tube and he had placed it on the table, carefully avoiding contact with anything that might stick to his hands later. 

"Shit, what's this stuff?" Riku complained as he watched the thick liquid starting to dry on his hands. Once it was dry it wouldn't be so sticky anymore, right? 

"Instant Super-Glue!" a voice exclaimed and that voice was Kairi, of course. A lot of other students turned to look at the duo, who was staring helplessly and a bit horrified at their hands. 

"Once you've got it on your skin it won't get off again, or so it says," one of the students declared, carefully taking the tube with a tissue to show everyone what the label said. 

Sora and Riku's eyes widened and they exchanged a look. 

"Can't be true, can it?" Sora stuttered, feeling his hands get strangely numb. 

Riku was panicking slightly but managed to keep his calm mask. "No problem, we can wash it off. It hasn't dried yet and as long as our hands don't get stuck anywhere it's no problem." 

He just hoped he was right. 

Kairi gave him a doubting look but it was meant to scare him and she didn't really doubt it. Riku was never wrong, and that glue couldn't be that bad, right? They wouldn't allow it in school if it were really that dangerous. 

Sora quirked his eyebrows and kind of made a disgusted face as he tried to move his fingers. Riku carefully lifted his arm to move without touching anything. 

Unfortunately he did accidentally touch something when someone suddenly called out to him. 

"Riku! Don't worry! We will save you!" A group of girls had already assembled to free their beloved from the evil sticky substance on his hand but it was too late and they stared in utter shock when they saw what Riku's hand had met. 

"Riku….." Sora muttered between gritted teeth. "If that's what I think it is…." He turned his head slightly to see what had suddenly touched his rear end and a deadly look crossed his face when he saw that it was indeed what he thought it was. 

Riku gulped. "H-hey…no problem…wait a second…" he stammered, drawing his arm back in an attempt to get his hand off Sora's butt. 

The latter squeaked and blushed, trying to swat Riku away just before he realized he would get stuck, too. He stopped moving at once and simply glared in mortification. 

Riku blushed even harder than Sora (if that was possible) and continued trying to get his hand off. He pulled, causing Sora to make noises of protest, and the scene they were causing finally caught the teacher's attention. However, the man said nothing and merely stared in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. 

"Rikuuuuu!" Sora wailed, jumping around in frustration. 

"Stop moving, you klutz! You'll just get your hands stuck somewhere!" the other boy replied, gritting his teeth in embarrassment and anger. His hand wouldn't come off; it was completely glued to the fabric of Sora's pants. 

Girls started swooning in sheer disbelief and excitement and tension. Boys were perplexed and some started laughing so hard they nearly tripped. Kairi stood closest to the two and tried to help them to get apart. 

It was no use. 

One girl, who had swooned before, managed to stand up again and stared at her beloved God and that other boy she didn't really know. She was about to swoon again when she saw what Riku was doing. 

Sora squealed a little too girlishly and then growled furiously. "RIKU! DON'T SQUEEZE!!" he shouted on top of his lungs and Riku turned beet red, wanting to cover the boy's mouth only to realize it would get stuck, too. 

"I was just trying to get us apart, idiot!" he replied in defence, looking at the people (including the incredulous teacher) staring at him. 

"Did Riku just squeeze this boy's butt?" one of the boys whispered to another, looking rather confused. 

Riku did his best to calm down. His reputation was probably out of the window by now. And whose fault was it? Sora's! It was always Sora's fault he got into trouble. Riku growled and thought of a way to get out of this mortifying situation. A thought entered his mind. 

"Take off your pants," he steadily commanded. 

Sora's eyes widened and he whipped his head around to face Riku. 

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" he bellowed, quite aware of the fact that everyone's jaws had dropped to the floor by this statement. 

Riku played it off as if it were nothing. Hell, the situation couldn't get any worse. 

One of the girls screeched and was ready to jump out of the window. "Did he just tell that boy to take off his pants?!" If it weren't for the group of friends holding her back, she would have jumped out right here and there because of this insanity. It was more than a poor girl's mind could take. What was her God doing? 

Kairi started to giggle, along with a lot of other students who respected Riku but couldn't stop laughing at the scene. 

Sora was humiliated to no end and Riku leaned in to whisper harshly. 

"It's the only way, Sora. Take off your pants so we can get apart." 

The brunet shook his head vigorously. "No way I'm doing this! Sorry, but you have to think of another way." 

Riku groaned and tried once again to pull away his hand. No use. Sora blushed a deep shade of scarlet as he felt Riku's hand moving. 

"Stop it," he hissed, knowing that he was probably going to get a nosebleed soon. If Riku kept doing that… 

The bell rang. Bless the bell; it saved them. 

Everyone groaned, for this hour had been the most interesting lesson they had experienced in years. 

Kairi, who had to flee from rabid fangirls trying to kill her, gave the boys a sympathetic look before dashing off to Tidus and Selphie to hide. 

The two boys meanwhile decided to go to the toilet to take care of their problem. This glue had to be removable somehow. However, on their way to the toilet, they were spotted by their P.E. teacher. 

"No…don't tell me it's Strife…" Riku muttered as he saw the spiky blond hair. 

Sora bit his lip. "Just act normal," he whispered, hoping the guy wouldn't notice. 

However, Strife did notice. And so Sora had to tell the tale of the Instant Super-Glue and their humiliating experience. He explained their current situation and that they would need to go to class soon again but the problem was that they weren't together now. Sora would have to be on the other side of the building, which was quite impossible in their current state. 

Their teacher was at a loss but he shrugged and stated the only thing he knew. 

"I'm not Aeris so I can't come up with good ideas but I think you two ought to visit Leon again. He might be able to help." 

Sora gulped. No, not that strange man again. Riku, however, nodded immediately and thanked Mr Strife for saving them from class. The blond shrugged and lead them to the headmaster's office before he vanished again. Probably to meet his secret lover, Riku thought as he rolled his eyes. 

They went into the office, which seemed to be quite familiar now. Three times in only one week. Sora was giving Riku nervous looks and the silver haired boy tried to calm him somehow. 

At the desk, the scowling man sat, going through papers and papers and more papers. 

"What is it?" he asked in his monotonous voice, not really looking up from his work. 

Riku cleared his throat. 

"We have a problem." 

The man kept his eyes on the desk and his papers, reading through things, signing them, then looking at other papers. 

Sora cleared his throat, too, more audible, though. 

"Ehem! We're having a problem here!" he exclaimed, slightly annoyed by the way the headmaster was ignoring them. 

Only then did he look up. Slowly, disinterested and completely unreadable did the man look up from his work. He looked the boys over. From head to toe. He noticed Riku's hand vanishing behind Sora and first didn't think of it as unusual. Then, however, he wondered why they were here and then the hand did seem suspicious. 

Sora's hands were strange, too. He was holding them out, spreading his fingers as though he was afraid to touch anything. 

Leon raised an eyebrow. The scar on his face was wrinkled slightly as he frowned. 

"What happened to you?" he then asked, sounding not much more interested than before but at least he had asked. 

Riku explained the story as fast as he could, gesturing around to emphasize on the stickiness of the glue. Sora squirmed at the movement of Riku's hand on his rear end and glared half-heartedly at the boy. 

"Oh," was all Leon had to say about it. 

They stood in silence then, the two boys and the man. He had gotten up to inspect the phenomenon (not to check out the boy's butt, really!) and now he was standing with his usual blank expression. 

Then he waved them off. 

"Whatever." 

He turned and Riku almost thought he was going to ignore them. Sora opened his mouth to protest. That man couldn't possibly leave them like that, could he? 

However, Leon went to a small cupboard at the back of the wall and got out a small bottle of something. 

"Use this. And water. Then you'll be free." 

He attempted to give the bottle to Riku, but the boy shook his head, showing him his other hand. It was full of glue, too. 

Leon rolled his eyes. He opened the bottle and poured some of it onto the boy's palm, wiping at it with a tissue. Miraculously, the glue seemed to dissolve and everything was wiped clean. Riku stared in wonder and awe and then he turned to look up at Leon. 

"Now go and use it." 

He pushed them out of his office, as usual, with his blank and unreadable face. Somehow, however, Riku knew that Leon was kind of amused. It was the way he looked, the way his eyes had changed when Riku told him the story. He couldn't help feeling that Leon had understood them. 

Back on the toilet, Riku used the miracle liquid to get Sora and him apart. It really worked. They washed themselves off with water and finally everything was back to normal. 

"What's that anyway?" Sora curiously asked, peering at the bottle. Riku shrugged and took it into his hands, inspecting the label. 

He froze immediately. Sora raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. "What?" 

He took the bottle from Riku's hand and read. Then he dropped it and stared blankly at the mirror before him. Riku did the same. They weren't really looking at anything, just staring into space. 

"You know… I really don't wanna know where else this has been used…" Sora then muttered, grimacing slightly. 

Riku nodded slowly. He really didn't want to know either. And he certainly didn't want to know _why in the world_ the headmaster was keeping stuff like that in a cupboard in his office. And he _ certainly_ didn't want to know what he was doing with that stuff…and with whom he used it… 

Riku shuddered. 

"Let's go now," he murmured, mechanically. Sora nodded, equally out of it. 

When they reached the door, however, Sora sobered and managed to smile again. 

Riku reached for the handle of the door but was stopped as arms came wrapping around him and a face was buried in his back. 

Riku smiled, feeling a faint warmth inside him. Sora was hugging him with such affection even though there was no reason. 

"Why?" he breathed, questioning the boy's actions. He didn't understand. Why would Sora hug him now? 

Sora let go and smiled, turning Riku around and backing him against the door. 

"Just because," he whispered, leaning in to brush his lips against Riku's. The silver haired boy blushed and turned away, mumbling embarrassedly that people might catch them again. Sora smiled and eventually backed off. 

"You're right," he murmured, still smiling brightly. Inside he was feeling so warm and tingly, he just wanted to hug Riku and never let him go. Their embraces were like a drug and Sora was dependent on it. They had gotten closer after time, always hugging, always calling, always holding hands. It was so much more than at the beginning. They had really made a connection – they were friends. Sora knew Riku truly cared. 

"I'm always right," Riku suddenly declared, smirking slightly as he reached out to brush a few bangs out of Sora's face. 

He then let his hand slide down to the boy's neck and pulled him close, hugging him as though he meant to outdo the other boy. Sora chuckled and hugged him back. 

Eventually, after realizing that they were _really_ late, they decided that it was time to leave for class. At least they had an excuse from the headmaster himself. 

"See ya later," Sora called as he made his way towards his class. 

Riku smiled and waved and mouthed 'love you' before turning on his heels. Sora wasn't sure he caught it but he knew Riku had mouthed _something_ at him and that made his heart beat faster. 

He also realized that that glue incident hadn't been as bad as he first thought. Riku's touch lingered. He felt the strange sensation of Riku touching him and though it was really embarrassing, he couldn't deny he kind of liked it. 

Sora shook his head. No such thoughts now! Now it was time to for class and as soon as it was over, Sora would see Riku again. 

He looked at the clock. They had spent so much time in the headmaster's office and on the toilet that there were only twenty minutes left. 

Sora grinned. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Ummm... I don't have much to say actually. Oh you're wondering what that bottle was? Well I think you can guess that. Riku and Sora were pretty horrified. But what's to expect from a super-hot-leather-freak like Leon? Huh? Heh heh...   
Anywayz... I really don't have much to say. Maybe that I kind of like Riku's dad. I wanted to make him evil as Riku's mother but I kind of made him nice so yeah. Oh yeah, now there's gonna be the problem with Riku inviting Sora over. Sora's going to be all "woaaahhh that's where you live??" and "woaaahhhhh it's huuuuge!" *starestareblinkblink* and yeah... will evil mom interfere? we'll see! ja ne. review if you feel like it! 


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** This one came out fast! Chapter 14 already, cool ^^ Sora is finally going to see Riku's house! He's the first one who was ever allowed to do that! Whoo our sweety Sora is really managing to warm Riku's heart ^-^  
I hope it's fluffy enough for you... I tried to make it sweet ^^   
oh and sorry for any mistakes...not beta-ed this time -_- Have fun! 

========= 

They were on their way home. Well, not quite. They were on their way to the bus station, accompanying Kairi just in case the rabid girls from school tried to kill her. Selphie had some insider news, since she was practically part of the group with her ID card, so she knew that the girls (and a few fanboys) were planning to get Kairi thrown out of school. Fortunately, though, the members of the Riku fanclub weren't exactly the brightest people, or maybe it was their love for Riku that blinded them, and so Kairi had nothing to fear. They couldn't achieve anything. 

"So, how did you get off the glue?" the auburn haired girl inquired as she saw that Riku and Sora were holding hands – but not glued together. 

Sora blushed slightly as he realized Kairi was looking at their hands but Riku didn't seem to let go and so he didn't resist. 

"Um…Leon helped us," the brunet murmured, shuddering at the thought of the _thing_ he had given them. 

"Leon? You mean Mr Leonhart?" Kairi was surprised that Sora called their headmaster by his nickname. Of course many people did that but she didn't expect Sora to do it. He just didn't seem like the type. Then again, Sora had been there quite often now and probably already got familiar with the man. 

Riku cleared his throat as they arrived at the bus station. "We're here." 

He completely ignored the poking and dabbing from Kairi, who was asking what he had done to get the glue off. Riku didn't feel like telling Kairi what the headmaster kept in his office. 

"Then let me guess!" she suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She thought for a while, crossing her arms over her chest. Sora frowned and looked over to Riku. The silver haired boy shrugged and simply waited for Kairi's question. 

"Okay…okay…something you don't wanna talk about, huh? And it helped to get the glue off… was it something nasty?" 

Riku remained still, keeping a perfect poker face. He said nothing. Sora was uncomfortable, though, and his face was an open book. 

Kairi nodded. "Okay, nasty then! Let's see… it wasn't soap 'cause we have that on the toilet… must have been something special…" 

Sora was constantly getting more uncomfortable and began tugging on Riku's hand. He did not want to remember that. And he didn't want Kairi to say it. 

"I got it!" she wailed, as she bounced up and down in excitement. 

"I _know_ what he gave you! It was something slippery, right?" 

Riku coughed slightly, surprised at Kairi's guess. Could she have really figured it out? 

The girl grinned, and then started giggling, covering her mouth with one hand. 

"Oh I knew this guy has a thing for kinky stuff!" 

Because Kairi knew a lot. Gossip was her second name, and gossip said that Mr Leonhart had a reason for being so utterly stoic and calm. They said that their leather-clad headmaster had a thing for… 

"It was lube, am I right? It was some really embarrassing kinky stuff, right?! And he made you use it and that's why Sora's turning into a tomato right now!" she laughed, pointing at her flushed friend. Sora was not even a tomato, it was worse. His face was so red, redder than the red light on the traffic light. 

Riku shuddered and began to gag, shaking his head furiously. 

"Thanks a lot, Kai! I was just about to repress that experience!" 

The girl laughed and practically rolled on the floor. She kind of felt sorry for the boys but then again this whole thing was so hilarious! First the fact that they had glued themselves together – and Riku had glued his hand to Sora's butt! – and then they conveniently used lubricant to solve their problem! Things couldn't get kinkier! 

The bus meanwhile went away before Kairi could enter and so she had to wait for the next one. She was still laughing. 

"Seriously…" she huffed between laughter. "You two are the victims of our sex-obsessed society!" she laughed harder, seeing Sora's wonderful red face and Riku's pink cheeks. Obviously the boys were taking it very seriously. And still, they were holding hands and it suddenly amazed Kairi how natural it seemed. She suddenly stopped laughing for a moment and began to inspect the boys, looking them over for a few times. 

A smile came to her lips and she tilted her head to the right side. 

"You know…from this angle…you almost look like a couple," she remarked as she turned her head a little further. 

Sora couldn't blush anymore, he was too red to get redder. Riku tensed and drew his lips to a fine line. 

"Enough," he commanded in a serious and steady tone. 

Hearing this, Kairi stopped immediately and turned back to stand straight. She gave Riku a short look, which Sora couldn't identify, then sighed and turned around to look for the bus. 

Sora was glad Kairi had stopped but she wondered why Riku had such an effect on her simply by saying it was enough. She had been making fun of them before and then suddenly she stopped completely. He found it interesting, this relationship between Riku and Kairi. What were they? 

He suddenly remembered the first day in this school, when he had heard some girls gossiping about Kairi being Riku's girlfriend. Surely they were total idiots but they had to have a reason for thinking so. Could it be that Kairi had been his girlfriend before? Or could it be that they were something close to it? Sora realized he didn't know much about Riku or Kairi's past, the time before he came to this school. The only thing he knew of was the present, things that were happening now. Should this worry him? 

The bus came and Kairi said goodbye to her friends, hugging them both. First Sora, then Riku. Sora was watching the two as they hugged. Riku wasn't really hugging her back, not like he did when Sora hugged him, and that kind of relieved him. But there was something in their eyes when they looked at each other. Sora knew Kairi was giving Riku strange looks every now and then, and Riku would either look away or return the look, like they were talking to each other through telepathy. It bothered him. Not much but enough to occupy his mind for a while. 

They reached Sora's house and readied themselves to say goodbye. However, Riku didn't seem to want it. Sora found himself being hugged by the boy – and it filled his heart with warmth so all his previous thoughts vanished – but then he noticed Riku wasn't letting go. 

They stood like that for a while and Sora waited for Riku to release him. He had to get home, after all, right? 

Riku didn't move. In fact, he just tightened his arms and sighed, breathing against the other boy's neck. 

"I don't wanna leave you…" he mumbled, and it sounded so adorable that Sora had to chuckle. 

"Then don't," he responded, pulling away just a bit so he could look at his friend. 

Riku smiled and they looked at each other for a long time. Eye contact was better than anything, Sora thought. He got lost in the beautiful deep eyes. Staring at them was heaving him up into heaven and it seemed those eyes held everything his heart wanted. 

Riku blinked. The eyelashes came down in slow motion and Sora was fascinated by the movement and the beauty of the long lashes. 

"You know what? I just had an idea." 

The silver haired boy pulled away and dusted himself off, straightening his clothes. He seemed contemplative for a second, but only for so long, and nodded to himself before he looked at Sora with a mischievous smile. 

"How about you come with me? I'll take you home to my place." 

Sora's jaw dropped. 

He stood frozen in complete shock with his eyes wide and mouth open for a long time. A very long time. 

Riku frowned a bit but tried to keep his smile. "Well?" He was nervous about the question. Why did he feel like he just proposed to Sora? 

Riku blushed. Had he just thought of proposing to Sora? 'What the hell am I doing here?' he thought to himself, feeling the sweat on his palms. He couldn't do what he just planned to do. What if his parents saw him? He wasn't supposed to bring his schoolmates home. But the thought of having Sora with him all afternoon…he just couldn't resist. 

Sora slowly recovered from the initial shock and eventually managed to shut his mouth and he began to smile. The smile widened and turned into a grin, and that grin was the full-blown, patented Sora-grin. 

In a split of a second, arms came flying around Riku's neck and before he knew what was happening, Sora had practically pounced on him, squeezing him affectionately. He was laughing all the while, laughing happily and the smile on his face was just too bright to bear. Riku couldn't help blushing at that reaction. 

Sora snuggled closer to him, tightening his arms around him before he pulled slightly away to look at Riku. 

He smiled sweetly. Then he leaned in and kissed Riku on the cheek, over and over again. He began to laugh again and squeezed Riku once more before finally letting him go. 

"You have no idea how I feel right now," Sora stated, his cheeks bright red from excitement. 

Riku returned the smile and gently took Sora's hand. He really didn't know what the boy was so excited about but he was happy that Sora seemed to be happy about seeing his home. So far Kairi had been right… 

"So, so! Where do you live? Is it far? Do you live in a big place? 'Cause you're rich and all. It's probably a huge villa, isn't it? Aww I can't believe I really get to see where you live!" Sora was overly hyper now, clinging to Riku's arm as they strolled down the street. He didn't really pay attention to the way but was more of staring at Riku with his bright, excited eyes, asking questions all the way. 

Riku stopped and cocked his head. 

"Why can't you believe it? What's so great about seeing where I live?" he asked as he frowned. Could it be that Sora was just like those fangirls who wanted to see the fancy palace in which their beloved hero lived? He didn't think Sora was that superficial, not after that thing they had. After all, they were developing a friendship here and it was blooming pretty well. Riku could feel that tingling feeling inside his chest whenever he looked at Sora. It was as though being with Sora was his only reason for living. 

Sora put a finger to his lips – pouting lips, Riku noted – and thought. His crystal blue eyes wandered about, as he seemed to look around aimlessly while thinking. Finally, he nodded and turned to face his friend. 

Smiling softly, he squeezed Riku's hand. 

"I'm just happy you're making me part of your life." 

It certainly wasn't the answer Riku had expected. On the other hand, he had kind of expected something along these lines because after all this time he _knew_ Sora, well enough to sometimes predict what he was going to say. But then again, this statement nearly swept him off his feet. 

"Part of my life?" he repeated, staring blankly at his smiling friend. 

Sora wasn't disappointed or discouraged at all by Riku's hesitant reaction because he also knew his friend and his ways of reacting to things by now. 

He reached out to take both of Riku's hands into his, holding them lovingly. 

"It means a lot to me to know you'll actually let me see it. I mean…Kairi said you never let anyone go there, right? And I…I get to see it and it's more than I ever wanted." He looked away then, turning to stare at his feet. He almost seemed shy. 

Kairi said…? So Sora and Kairi were talking about him sometimes? It suddenly struck him how close those two sometimes seemed. Not as close as Sora and he were, because he just knew there was something special between them, but they were close nonetheless. What else did Kairi say about him? Riku almost began to worry but thanks to Sora he snapped out of it. 

"So, where do we go?" the brunet cheerfully asked after attaching himself to Riku's arm again. 

The silver haired boy smiled at the feeling and bent down to place a kiss on Sora's head. 

"Straight ahead, just follow the road," he replied and motioned with his hand. "It really isn't far, just a few blocks further and then we take the second turn left." 

And so they began to walk, occasionally receiving looks from people who knew Riku, the miracle boy, and wondered what this other boy was doing with him. They went down the road, and after the second turn left, Sora peered around for a possible destination. There were a few houses…which one was Riku's? 

Riku led him a bit further and suddenly he stopped. Sora looked up to find himself standing in front of huge gates. There was a wall that enclosed a huge area and the gates seemed to be the entrance. Black painted iron bars in an artful composition formed the gates that led into a beautiful garden. Sora looked through the bars to see that there was some kind of lake in there and everything was green and blooming. There were marble tiles, a way that led from the gates into the garden and then somewhere. Sora couldn't see that far. 

"Here we are," Riku announced, digging into his pocket to get out a keycard. It turned out to be a small plastic card, which he put into some kind of machine on the right side of the wall, next to the gate. 

He punched in a few numbers and pressed the OK button and the gates opened. 

"This is the back entrance. I usually enter here when I come home from school. There's another entrance in the front and it doesn't need the keycard. There are usually servants who wait and open when I want to enter there." 

The gates swung open automatically and Riku smiled at the awestruck expression on Sora's face. He reached to grasp the boy's hand, leading him through the first stage of the wondrous palace. It was their personal garden, full of exotic trees, a private lake and Greek sculptures made of stone. There was a golden statue of someone there, a woman, Sora noted, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful this woman was. 

Riku followed his friend's gaze as he realized Sora was staring at something. When his eyes came upon the golden statue, he snorted. 

"That's my mother. She wanted to have a statue of herself in the garden. Shows how stuck up she is." 

He tugged on Sora's hand to urge him away. He led the boy through what seemed to be Eden, and Sora was fascinated by every single thing he saw. The trees were all full and lively, the grass on the ground was soft and perfectly trimmed. There were flowers growing over the wall, flowers he couldn't put a name on. 

Then his eyes fell upon a tree, standing alone, somewhere near that lake. First Sora was distracted by the crystal clear water of the lake, impossible clear. He noticed that there was a special construction at the ground of the water to clean it. But then his attention turned back to the tree. There were strange fruits hanging there…or were those flowers? He wasn't sure, he had never seen those things before. 

Riku was leading him away, though, not really caring for the garden. 

"We're almost there," he announced as they approached what seemed to be a fairy tale palace. 

Sora's eyes widened at the sheer beauty and gorgeousness of the place. It was huge and splendid. There were carvings on outside wall of the building, so detailed that one would need a lifetime to look at them all. Windows big as doors and doors big as gates. Everything was king sized in this area. 

Riku went to the huge door and rang the bell. It was a curt sound, much like the sound of a telephone. 

Immediately, the door opened, revealing two maids and one butler, all dressed in their special uniform. 

"Master Riku," one of the maids hastily greeted, bowing down with full respect. The other maid did the same, as well as the butler. They all bowed before the silver haired boy and Sora blinked in confusion. 

"Why are they doing that?" he suspiciously whispered as he nudged Riku. 

The silver haired boy chuckled. "Because they have to. They show their respect doing so." 

Sora blinked again and raised his eyebrows. "Respect, huh?" he mumbled, grinning suddenly. 

"Then I guess I have to do that too!" he suddenly exclaimed, bowing down, lower than anyone, almost falling to his knees in front of Riku. 

The servants looked up at blinked in surprise at the stranger's outburst and Riku's eyes widened. He quickly pulled his friend up, giving him a half scolding, half amused look. 

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, smirking slightly as Sora seemed to grin so adorably he couldn't resist. 

"Just respecting you, Master Hunny Bunny!" 

That earned him a light punch on the shoulder, which he countered with one of his cutest pouts, sticking his tongue out at Riku. 

Riku just rolled his eyes. Then he turned to his servants and narrowed his eyes. 

"May I ask where mother is?" 

The butler straightened himself and cleared his throat. "The Mistress is out for this afternoon. A very important meeting." 

Riku laughed. "Yeah, right. Important shopping trip." He seemed happy all of the sudden, much more relaxed than before. He smiled at Sora and put his arm around Sora's waist. The servants merely looked a bit puzzled but said nothing. They wouldn't dare. 

"And I guess father is away, too?" Sora noticed the slight change in Riku's voice. 

The butler nodded. "Yes, Master Riku." 

The silver haired boy pulled Sora closer and smiled. 

"Good, then." 

He raised his hand towards his servants and then ushered them away. 

"I'm going to show this boy around now, don't bother us. If anyone should come home, be it my mother or my father, inform me immediately," he commanded, knowing full well that no one would disobey him. He watched the servants nod and quickly rush off. He smiled. 

Sora was looking at the room they were in. It was a big, round hall, with stairs on either side of the room that led to the second storey. There were two doors on the opposite side and Sora wondered where all those ways led. 

"My room is upstairs… but I'll show you around down here for now." He took Sora's hand again, maybe because he didn't want to lose Sora in this big house since it was possible to get lost in here, or maybe just because he wanted to feel the warmth of the soft hand. Either way, the boys were linked and made their way through the door on the right. 

They were in yet another hall. There was a huge table with at least fifty seats and everything was decorated like it was for a feast. 

"This is one of the seven gala rooms. My parents use them to have dinner parties. Each room is different in size but they practically look the same. This is the smallest. A party for fifty people." There were another three doors in this room and Sora got dizzy from looking at everything. All those shiny diamonds that made up the decoration. 

The chairs were old wood with rubies carved in and the chandelier glittered with gemstones. 

Riku lead him into the next room. It was a slightly smaller room since it seemed to serve as connection between the gala room and another room. There were flowerpots on the side, exotic plants decorating the way. Paintings that looked extremely expensive were on the walls and Sora could only stare in awe and more awe. 

Eventually, they reached another room. They must have walked for 5 minutes to get into here and Sora couldn't quite remember how many of those connection rooms they had passed. 

Now they were in some kind of living room. Or so it seemed. Because Sora didn't know what the living room of rich people looked like. 

There were three different sofas on three sides of the room. A television set of the highest standard. Again, many artful sculptures and vases that seemed priceless. 

"I know, there's a lot of junk in here. My dad likes to collect this stuff," Riku mumbled as he gestured around the room. 

Sora noticed the billiard table in the back. There was a bar on the right side with all kinds of bottles and glasses in the shelves. This place looked like the lobby of a five star hotel. 

After Sora was done drooling in pure awe, Riku pulled him along. They visited one of the bathrooms (they had ten in total), the place with the swimming pool, the music room in which every existing instrument lay, even the instruments Sora didn't know, and eventually they came to a staircase. They had passed at least thirty servants as they went through the places. Sora wondered just how many of them were in this household and if they lived in this place because there were so many rooms. 

"Let's go upstairs now, I guess you're tired already aren't you?" Riku smirked as Sora yawned. 

"Am not," the brunet stubbornly insisted, covering his mouth with his hand. He wouldn't admit that this journey (yes, it was a_ journey_) through the main rooms of the house had exhausted him to no end, especially since he'd been carrying his schoolbag all the time. It worried him somewhat that this wasn't even the whole house but only a few rooms. 

Riku put an arm around his shoulder and Sora blushed slightly at the sudden intimacy between them. It felt so strange but also so right to be like this. Riku pulled him closer and leaned in to his ear, whispering softly. 

"Let's go to my room now." 

The brunet shuddered. The mere sound of this whisper was enough to make his knees turn to jelly and the context of what was being said was enough to make him faint. Riku was taking him to _ his _ room. Something he had never dreamed of. Not after hearing how cold Riku was to others and how no one was ever allowed to see where he lived and how he lived. It wondered him why he of all people was allowed now. 

They went through a corridor and Sora was too caught up in the closeness of him and Riku that he didn't look at his surroundings anymore. It simply wasn't as fascinating as Riku. 

They reached a door and Sora knew immediately that it was the door to Riku's room. Not only because there was his name in golden letters. He just knew. 

When the door opened, Sora was stunned. No, stunned wasn't the right word. He was simply speechless and shocked out of his mind. The room was bigger than his whole apartment. The palace was probably a million times bigger than his home but Riku's room alone was already so huge. 

And it was so beautiful. 

Navy blue curtains at the end of the room, where big French windows lead to a balcony. The bed, he noted, was about the size of Sora's room! And the sheets were blue, too. The colour matched the room perfectly and when he looked around he spotted a black piano. A grand piano. 

"Can I try?" 

Riku blinked. He looked at the piano, then at Sora, and then blinked again. 

"Uh…sure." 

He hadn't seen that coming. Out of all things Sora had to say about this room was 'Can I try playing the piano?'. But Riku didn't mind. Sora looked so adorable and lovely with those excited sparkling eyes as he plopped down on the stool. Before he did that, however, he finally got rid of his schoolbag, placing it on the floor next to the piano. Riku did the same, throwing his bag somewhere into the corner. 

Sora stared at the black and white keys for a while, never having played a piano. Tentatively, he poked one key with his index finger. A sound came out. Sora smiled. He poked it again and then another key, trying to play a melody. 

Riku couldn't help smiling when he watched the boy toying with the instrument. He noticed how Sora tried to play with more than just his index finger, placing his hands flat on the keys. 

"Hey, hey, wait," he said, walking over to Sora. 

"You're doing it wrong." He stood behind the boy now, bending slightly and reached for Sora's hand. He placed his own hand over Sora's, dragging his fingers up a bit. 

"You have to hold your hand like you're holding an orange. You can't play with your fingers flat on the keys." He gently led Sora's fingers with his, pressing them down so Sora would press the keys. 

They played like that for a while, Riku guiding Sora's hand with his own. When Sora got the hang of it, he tried to play by himself and Riku withdrew his hand. He leaned his head on Sora's shoulder, watching the boy's fingers press the keys randomly. And as he watched, he instinctively wrapped his arms around the boy's waist, pulling him a little closer. 

Sora remained in his position, playing the few notes he knew, with the only difference that Riku was now half hanging over him, hugging him. 

"Mmm Riku…" Sora murmured, leaning back into the embrace. He lifted his hand, the one that wasn't playing, and raised it to caress Riku's cheek. He skimmed his palm over the soft skin and closed his eyes. Riku did the same, tightening his arms slightly as his eyes fell shut. 

He could feel every inch of Sora meeting his body. The warmth was invading him like a pleasant wave and the scent, the simple scent of regular soap, remnants of Sora's lunch and something that was just Sora, made Riku's head spin. He loved it. He loved nothing more than to be like this. 

Sora tilted his head so they were cheek to cheek and he felt a shiver shake his body at the contact. Riku smelled like the time they had been at Sora's place. 

"Dreamer?" the brunet quietly asked, smiling a bit at the memory. 

Riku chuckled and moved his cheek, nuzzling the boy. "Yep. I thought you might like it," he replied, starting to rock them gently from side to side. They swayed a little; Sora nuzzled back and his hands slipped down to rest on Riku's, which he had placed on Sora's stomach, moving them in small circles. 

They were close. 

Closer than they had ever been. Not even the kiss, if one could call that clumsy and awkward attempt at sharing something neither had thought of before, not even that had been as intimate as this embrace. They were simply fused together now, one heart and one soul. 

"Love you," Riku whispered and it was almost inaudible. 

Sora whispered it back, equally inaudible. Both heard each other's confessions, though. It wasn't a full 'I love you' like the love confessions you heard on TV, when one lover would fall around their lover's neck and cry it out with tears of joy. No, it wasn't like that. Nothing in the context of 'You're my lover'. It was more like…more like a statement that they cared. That they cared about each other and that this thing they had, friendship or whatever it was called, was the most important thing in their lives. 

Riku slowly let go of Sora, after feeling his back cramp slightly at the awkward position. He straightened and took Sora's hand while he was at it. He lifted it up and kissed it, earning a chuckle from his friend. 

"This is to show you my respect," Riku murmured, smiling gently before gesturing Sora to get up. "…'cause I don't wanna bow before you," he added, smirking in that sexy way of his. Sora snickered and stuck his tongue out. 

"You're just afraid of getting on your knees before me," he spat, grinning playfully at the silver haired boy. 

Riku raised one elegant eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?" 

Sora laughed and stood up, getting on his tiptoes to place a kiss on Riku's forehead. The boy was still taller than him so it was a bit hard. 

"Maybe," he playfully responded. He made his way to Riku's bed, then. He stared at the dozen of pillows and the satin sheets. It looked like satin. Everything in this room was so brilliant, so luxurious and simply amazing. Just like Riku. Sora found that the room really fitted its owner. 

Riku came to stand beside him and then sat down on the bed, patting the spot beside him. 

Sora smiled, took off his shoes and hopped onto the bed, noting how comfortable it was. The mattress wasn't too soft, because soft beds often made you lie uncomfortable, but it wasn't too hard either. It was just perfect. There was a lot of space and Sora took one of the pillows. He lifted it to his face and inhaled the scent. He smiled. 

"Just as I thought….it smells like you." 

He turned to Riku with his sweet smile and placed the pillow back down. Riku blinked. 

"Really?" He had never thought that his things smelled like him. 

Sora nodded and let himself fall backwards so he was lying sprawled on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

"Everything here is just like you. The room's perfect and so are you," Sora mumbled, sighing contently as he curled up into a ball. 

Riku smirked at the adorable position. Sora looked like a kitten. He couldn't help himself and bent down to steal a small kiss, causing Sora to mewl and uncurl. 

"Hey!" he complained, quickly sitting up again. 

"What?" Riku innocently asked, shrugging his shoulders. 

Sora pouted and then moved closer to Riku, hugging him again. "Don't do that without warning me first," he muttered. 

Riku shrugged and pulled away. Sora watched in confusion as the boy got up, seemingly searching for something. He watched as Riku walked about the room, correction, the _huge_ room. Finally, he found what he was looking for. 

"Ha, I knew I had it somewhere…" 

He walked back to the bed, flopped down on it and pressed a few buttons on the remote he was holding. 

"Wanna watch TV?" He pressed a button and suddenly all the curtains closed, leaving only a tiny crack to let some light come in. 

He pressed another button and Sora could see how an image was projected onto the wall in front of the bed. 

"Wow…" It was like being in a cinema. There came a program, which showed two people cooking and Sora cocked his head in wonder. 

Riku sighed and changed the channel. "There's nothing on TV lately. You rarely get anything good." 

He changed the channel a few times and then decided to watch whatever they had. 

It was a cartoon. In fact, it was an anime. Riku didn't know it, he'd never seen it before and Sora didn't know either because he never watched TV. 

"Let's watch that," the silver haired boy concluded. He sat back against the headboard, surrounded by pillows. Sora sat a bit further away and turned to Riku, having to tear his gaze away from the fascinating cinema-like wall. 

Riku smiled and gestured Sora to come to him. The brunet obeyed and he crawled over the bed, up to Riku until he was right in front of him. Riku turned him around and pulled him to his chest, holding him back to chest so they could both watch and be together. Sora was lying between Riku's legs, which seemed awkward at first but soon turned into the most natural thing. 

There was this closeness again. Riku was like a big pillow. Sora snuggled into him and sighed contently as he felt the boy's hands tease absently over his abdomen. They watched this show for a while although Sora wasn't really paying attention. He was toying with Riku's hands, poking them, caressing them and generally teasing them. 

Riku smiled and teased back, trying to catch Sora's hand before it touched him. They chuckled a bit, both completely ignoring the television as they were too busy playing this game of tease. 

Eventually, Riku won, catching Sora's hand and linking fingers with him. 

They turned their attention back to the show and watched for a while, listening to the noise of the anime while they enjoyed the presence of the other. And when the show was over, Riku turned off the TV, carefully placing the remote next to him as he noticed Sora had fallen asleep. 

He smiled, shifting slightly under the sleeping boy, and gently stroked over his arms. He was petting him with great affection as he wondered how all of this had happened. A few weeks ago, everything had been different. He had been busy with the things his parents told him to do, never thinking about anything but his tasks. He had been flirting with girls before, not really taking it seriously since he wasn't supposed to socialize with those lowlives, but he still saw a pride in his achievements on how many people were constantly falling in love with him. It had been his life, his way of going through this life. But then it changed. 

Riku felt Sora move, snuggling closer to him again, since he had drifted away in his sleep. He felt the boy grasp his shirt, inhaling and exhaling deeply, tickling Riku a bit. 

Sora. 

Riku didn't know what this boy was doing to him and how he was able to do it, but he knew one thing. He knew that he cared for Sora, more than for anything else. He knew that he didn't want to lose him ever again and if his parents were against their friendship, he would just leave this place. He wouldn't care about his parents, not even his father who didn't seem to be that bad. For Sora, he would just give up everything because even if it had only been weeks ago that his life had been different, now he couldn't imagine living without Sora. This friendship was taking over in his life, and he loved it, even though he kept wondering what these feelings were he had and how they came into existence. 

"Whatever you did…" he muttered, placing another small kiss on top of the spiky hair, 

"…you did it well…" 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Awww. Ok, I don't wanna go praising my own work but I kind of liked this chapter! It was sweet, don't you think? And it's not over yet, Sora's still at Riku's house so it's going to continue in the next chapter ^^  
Ahh if you're wondering why Sora fell asleep...well, he never sleeps much, remember? He's used to getting up early and he goes to sleep pretty late. Also, this _journey_ through the house made him somewhat exhausted. And don't forget the glue incident. The whole excitement made him tired. ^^  
And so...he fell asleep on Riku's bed...practically lying on him. Hehe... I wonder if Riku'll get any dirty thoughts here? Sora...lying between his legs... ^-^

Oh and...when they said "love you" I was kinda thinking of the German term "Ich hab dich lieb" ... I dunno if anyone of you knows it but... it's kind of like I love you, just more...mm... innocent? Friends say that to each other when they like each other a lot. I just wanted to make clear that Sora and Riku have not yet realized what is happening to them (that they're falling in love with each other) and just think they care about each other because they're becoming friends. So it wasn't a direct confession of undying love ^^ 

Anywayz, review please and stay tuned for the next chapter! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's apology: **Oh my God I'm so sorry! It's been really long, right? Gomen nasai! Please forgive me bows  
Here's chapter 15 and I don't like it. Honestly, if I've liked chapter 14, I don't like this one. It's stupid... Cause I'm completely incapable of writing right now and just did this so I would have an update to tell you I'm still alive. Gomen.-- 

========= 

Sora lay peacefully in Riku's arms. The silver haired boy had become accustomed to the feeling of his friend snuggling up to him and was now half dozing off himself. Sora had moved so that he was lying on his side, head nestled against Riku's chest with his ear right at his friend's heart. 

Riku had his arms around the boy now, absently playing with the edge of his shirt. His fingers grazed the exposed skin beneath the shirt and he blushed as he heard a sigh in response to his caress. 

Sora suddenly began to stir, inhaling deeply before starting to open his eyes. 

"Huh…?" 

Riku withdrew his hand and groaned as Sora's eyes opened fully. 

"Nooo…" he mumbled, cursing the fact that the brunet was awake again. It had felt so good to be like that… 

"Riku? Did I fall asleep?" Sora sleepily asked as shifted so that he was lying on his stomach, facing Riku when he looked up while he rested his chin against the other boy's chest. 

Riku sighed and nodded. "Yeah…" he trailed off, unable to resist the adorable sight. Sora looked so content and sweet with his slightly flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. He just wanted to squeeze and cuddle him when he was like that. 

The brunet hummed and Riku could feel the vibration it caused on his chest. He smiled. 

"You look cute when you sleep," he commented, as Sora seemed to blow out his breath absently. He looked up in curiosity then, beautiful, long eyelashes descending a few times as he blinked. 

"What do you mean I look cute??" Sora had this half pout, half scowl on his face when he asked that. He didn't seem upset, though, because he hadn't moved one inch. Why wasn't Sora getting up or rolling over? No, Sora just kept on lying there on Riku, stomach to stomach, face to face. And it caused the silver haired boy to blush even more. 

"You…just…um…look cute. It's true!" Riku stammered, feeling the heat taking over him. 

Sora frowned for a while, taking those words into consideration before he finally nodded and shrugged it off. He flipped over, finally moving off the boy. However, he stayed close, lying next to Riku with his arms crossed behind his head. 

They lay like that for a while. Just next to each other, just close to each other. 

Riku was trying to look at Sora out of the corner of his eyes but he found that he would get a strange feeling in his chest when he did. Like it was going to burst. 

"Hey, do you think we'd make a good team?" Sora suddenly asked, turning his head to face Riku. 

The silver haired boy snapped his eyes back to stare at the ceiling and frowned. 

"Good team? How?" he replied, not really knowing what Sora meant. 

The younger boy grinned and unfolded his arms, withdrawing them so he could shift to lie on his side, head propped up on one arm. 

"Ya know, like, teamwork. I don't know…like when we're supposed to do something for school or something…umm… do you think we match?" 

It certainly caught Riku off guard, this phrase. 'Do we match?' he asked himself, faintly hearing his mother's voice scolding him about lowlifes and other garbage. He remembered Sora's mother, too, who was always smiling and beaming. Obviously, they were from two different worlds. His parents, his whole world, consisted of stuck up, materialistic people. Sora and his mother seemed to be made of light, warmth and happiness. Cliché? Pretty much. 

"I don't know…" Riku mumbled in response, frowning even more as he began to ponder it. 

Sora pouted and reached out to drape his arm over his friend's chest. 

"Hmmm… I thought we'd be a good team…'cause we get along and all…" he trailed off. 

Riku opened his mouth to say something, what, he didn't know, but he had no chance anyway because Sora continued talking in a slightly subdued voice. 

"I've been thinking about this for a while. Maybe I even dreamt about it, who knows," he murmured, smiling a little. "But I think, when two people get along…and want to be together… then they are definitely a good combination, you know what I mean? Nothing can go wrong between us because we're just us and it works…" He stopped there, blinking a few times before looking at Riku. 

"What do you think?" 

Riku was impressed by Sora's simple, yet true logic. He was right, wasn't he? They were themselves and yet they got along. There was no obstacle between them, no pretending. And they liked each other, so much he knew. 

"I think…" he began, licking his suddenly dry lips. "…that you're right." He finished and gave Sora a smile. He couldn't describe the emotion he saw in Sora's eyes. Maybe it was even his imagination. But the brunet seemed to radiate those rays of light again, he always beamed like that when he was happy. 

Then Sora sat up, stretching lazily as he stifled a yawn. Riku grinned and reached out to grab the boy's arm, pulling him down again. 

"You stay here," he commanded, wrapping his arms around Sora. The latter grinned, too and followed his friend's actions, wrapping his arms around him. 

"I want you to stay forever," Riku mumbled as they hugged. 

Sora chuckled and pulled away. "I'm afraid that's not possible but it's good to know you feel that way." Riku snorted and tightened his arms. "Who says it's not possible? I get what I want." He nuzzled Sora's cheek and murmured, "Please…I don't want to be alone…" 

Sora reeled back as though he'd been burned and seemed to scamper away. Riku blinked and then frowned, feeling a pang in his chest. Had he just said something wrong? 

Sora was staring at him with such an unreadable expression; it unnerved him because usually Sora was an open book. Or was he was readable was ever but Riku was just too blinded by emotion to see it? 

"Riku…" the brunet began, slowly crawling towards the silver haired boy. 

Riku chewed on his impossible dry lips. Why were they so dry anyway? 

Sora came closer again, so close that their foreheads were touching. 

"You once said something…about my room…" Sora whispered, slowly lifting his arm to place his hand on Riku's shoulder. 

"You said I should be happy about my small room because a big one just makes you lonely…" 

Riku tensed as he felt the hand on his shoulder squeeze him. Sora was so close. So close. 

"Are you lonely, Riku?" it was barely a whisper and Sora's face was full of sincere concern and sympathy, it almost hurt to look at his face. 

And so Riku dropped his gaze. A little ashamed of his weakness – he hated showing people his weakness – and placed his hands on Sora's hips. 

"Not when you're with me," he answered, trying to sound casual, trying to conceal the true emotion behind those words. It was an emotion he didn't know, hadn't experience before, couldn't put a name on. It was simply an emotion that drove him mad when he wasn't with Sora. 

Sora's hand was suddenly on Riku's chin, gentle and careful. 

He tilted Riku's face with his hand and leaned in, pressing his lips to Riku's. 

The silver haired boy jerked at the sudden contact, cursing his dry lips. Sora shouldn't do that when his lips felt so rough. 

However, the contact only seemed to dampen his lips, creating such a blissful feeling so that Riku felt his body shudder. He heaved a deep sigh when Sora withdrew. 

"What was that for?" he breathed, opening his eyes when he couldn't even remember he had closed them. 

Sora was smiling at him, shyly, blushing, and shrugged. 

"I thought…it might make you feel…better…" 

Riku stared at his friend. 

Sora could feel the confusion in Riku and he was confused himself. It wasn't the whole truth, what he'd just said. Of course he did it so Riku felt better but there was also this little thing he tried to ignore. The fact that he had _wanted_ to do that. He had simply longed for another touch, another sweet contact and that's why he did it. Riku made him do and think the strangest things sometimes… 

"I think we should move in together!" he suddenly exclaimed like it was the greatest idea of the century. He didn't even know why he had said that. Probably just to change the subject. 

Riku was obviously shocked out of his mind when heard that, or at least surprised, because his eyes went wide and round like bowling balls and he stared incredulously at Sora. 

"Okay, stupid idea…" Sora muttered in defeat, wondering why the heck he had said that anyway. 

However, this exclamation seemed to have woken Riku up, brought back the smug Riku Sora knew and the silver haired boy smirked. 

"Just because we get along it doesn't mean we can move in together," he said, sitting up to cross his arms. Sora sat up, too and pouted. 

"Why not?" 

Riku gave Sora a look and snorted. "We would be together all the time and who knows, maybe we'd have to shower together or something and we'd have to sleep together. How can you do that? You didn't even want to take off your pants in front of me," he spat, smirking at Sora's horrified expression as they remembered the glue incident. 

Well, that had been embarrassing. 

Sora blushed hard and bit his lip. 

"It wasn't like that!" he defended, twisting his hands in embarrassment. 

Riku quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?" 

Sora nodded vigorously and crossed his arms. "I just didn't want to take off my pants in front of _the class!_" 

Well, it was certainly not a good idea to say that because a second later Sora was blushing even harder. Had he just said he would take off his pants in front of Riku? Would he? Sora swore never to talk without thinking again. It was deadly. 

Riku laughed and patted the boy on his back. 

"Oh, so you actually _would_ strip for me?" 

Somehow this conversation went into the wrong direction. Hadn't they just been really sweet and honest with each other? Hadn't Sora just kissed Riku – he blushed – and hadn't they just confessed their feelings in a way? And now they were talking about stripping?! 

"Well, only if you did first!" Sora concluded, sticking out his tongue. 

Riku was silent. 

He looked down, inspecting the hands in his lap. The thing that worried him now was that he was actually considering doing it just to see Sora do it. 'Bad Riku…bad!' he mentally scolded himself. He had to grin again when he thought of the ridiculousness of this all. And it made him feel happy, too because he was able to fool around with Sora like that. 

"Why are you grinning now?" Sora suspiciously asked, trying to back away. Riku caught his hands and pulled him close again, shrugging his shoulders innocently. 

"No reason," he replied, drawing his friend yet a little closer. 

They sat like that for a while, simply facing each other while holding hands. Riku began to think and he found that he liked holding hands with Sora. He liked the simple contact and the reassurance it gave him to feel him close. 

Sora was smiling again as Riku snapped out of his thoughts. The boy was watching him, probably had been watching the whole time he had been in thought. It didn't bother him at all. He remembered being annoyed when people stared at him or when they watched him in awe. But he found that it was different with Sora. 

"What do you see?" Riku suddenly asked, tilting his head slightly. 

Sora blinked. "What do you mean? I see you," he answered, giving Riku his trademark grin. He was so adorable when he did that. 

Riku chuckled and shrugged, letting go off Sora's hands again. "Well, who am I? Who do you think I am?" he continued, turning his head to look around the room. He lifted his hand to gesture towards the various things. 

"All that stuff…it belongs to me. I have a hundred servants working for me. I've never been involved with anyone. I'm not a person but more like a precious item." He stopped, thinking of his mother again. She had never treated him badly, had she? Always giving him the best of the best, always sending at least ten servants with him wherever he went, just for his safety. He was like some kind of treasure but not a person to her. He wasn't a person to anyone. 

"Yeah, you're probably something like that," Sora casually responded, scratching his head before he shrugged. "But then you're also a person, you know?" he continued, reaching out to squeeze his friend's shoulder. 

"Because if you weren't, I'd be a dork." 

Riku blinked and snapped his head to Sora. "Dork?" 

Sora grinned. "I don't know how you feel about it but I don't want to love a _thing_. If I love, then it must be a person, you know? And you _are_ a person. The greatest one I ever met." He shrugged a bit helplessly, finding it somehow embarrassing to be so honest about this. He wasn't sure if that was what Riku wanted to hear but he supposed that he could say whatever he wanted. Because they were friends. 

Riku couldn't help but smile and he felt a tingling sensation course through his body. Why did Sora's word have such an effect on him? Whenever he said something like that, Riku would get this feeling… 

"Thanks…" he muttered, uncertain of what to say. 

Sora grinned and crossed his arms behind his head. "No problem, partner!" 

Riku chuckled and ruffled the boy's messy hair. Somehow it felt like they had gotten closer again. Day after day they were getting closer, knowing more of each other and feeling like they belonged together. And Sora's idea seemed to stay in his mind for the rest of the day. 'Moving together…Sora and me…' he mused, smiling slightly at the thought. It would be fun. They would share everything and do everything together. It would be fun. 

--- 

Time had passed way too fast. Sora was glancing sadly at the clock while Riku smoothed out the sheets on his bed. 

"Time to go…" Sora murmured, heaving a deep sigh. Riku went to hug him and withdrew to give him a kiss on the forehead. 

"I'll call you later," he said, brushing the brown bangs away only to have them fall back stubbornly. Sora sighed again and his lips quivered. Riku had to laugh when he saw that. 

Suddenly, however, there was a knock on the door. Riku's heart leapt into his throat when he heard that and Sora flinched in surprise. 

They stood in silence, both unsure of what to do. There was another knock. Then a muffled voice. 

"Master Riku? I came to inform you that your mother has arrived." 

The silver haired boy's eyes widened. Sora opened his mouth to say something but Riku covered his mouth, looking around frantically. 

"Uhh…yes…thanks!" he called, eyes still wandering about the room. 

Sora frowned and decided to do something about that hand on his mouth. 

"Ah!" Riku's hand reeled back and he stared at it, at the spot that had just been licked. He stared at in as if in trance and his eyes eventually came to meet Sora's eyes. 

"What the hell?" 

Sora pouted and stuck out his tongue. "Don't clamp your hand over my mouth," he simply stated. "I don't like it," he added, crossing his arms. 

Riku blinked repeatedly. He wasn't upset about what Sora had done but it had excited him somewhat. The feeling of Sora's tongue... 'Ahh what the hell am I thinking?' he mentally asked himself, not really getting what was going on in his teenage mind. Then his thoughts came back to the current topic. His mother. Was at home. And Sora. Was here, too. What now? 

Sora meanwhile went to pick up his schoolbag, getting ready to leave. He was at the door when Riku yelped and jumped to pull him back, resulting them to crash against the door with Riku pinning Sora. 

"Hey!" the younger boy exclaimed, feeling strangely comfortable in that position. Riku's face wasn't far away right now. Tempting, indeed. 

Riku pulled away quickly and shook his head. "You can't just walk out like that," he said, biting his lip nervously. 

Sora cocked his head. "Why not?" 

Riku sighed. "My mother. She mustn't see you!" He took Sora's hand and lead him to the balcony. "There. Can you climb down here? There's a rope-ladder on the right side." He showed Sora the ladder and gestured him to use it. He remembered using this rope-ladder when he was younger. He had often tried to escape for a while, using this. He would hide in the garden, sit under that tree he loved so much and just relax. The ladder was one of the best inventions ever. 

Sora gave Riku a look. 

"What?" Riku asked, slightly irritated by the situation. He knew it was rude to let Sora climb down there instead of going through the entrance but what else could they do? His mother wasn't allowed to know about this all. 

"I'll get lost in this huge garden!" Sora exclaimed, pulling on Riku's sleeve. Riku wanted to cover his mouth again but stopped right before his lips. Sora blinked. 

"I'll go with you. But remember this way," he whispered, indicating that they had to be careful. They were going to sneak out without anyone noticing so they had to be really careful. 

Sora nodded and began climbing down the ladder. Riku followed and soon they were in the garden. 

They ran through it, crawling sometimes when they suspected someone who would see them. At the gates, Sora panted to catch his breath while Riku smirked at him. 

"Tired already? Don't tell me this little spurt has worn you out," he teased. 

Sora glared and punched Riku playfully, pouting again. "Idiot," he mumbled, huffing a bit. 

Riku chuckled and shook his head. 

"Now, you gotta go before anyone catches us." 

Sora nodded and turned. Before he walked away, however, he turned his head back to Riku once more. 

"You said…" he began, drawing his eyebrows together in thought before he continued, "that I should remember this way…" He looked at Riku for a while. 

"Does that mean…there'll be a next time?" 

Riku smiled. "Come whenever you want. You know the way." 

They hugged again and this time it was more than just a fleeting awkward hug. They held each other and clung to each other for what seemed eternity; Riku didn't want to let go. Eventually, Sora managed to tear himself away because he really had to get home. 

"You'll call me, don't forget that," he reminded the boy before he skipped out of the garden. 

Riku stood for a while, watching Sora leave. Then, he quickly turned back and ran to his balcony, climbing up the ladder and back into his room. He picked up his cell phone and waited. He'd give Sora fifteen minutes to get home before he called. 

Riku smiled and sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall. Everything had been okay. His mother hadn't— 

"Riku? Riku are you in there? Come out, now!" 

He groaned. What in the world would his mother want of him this time? He had been so happy just now and that stupid woman had to ruin it. As usual. 

He got up, placing his cell phone back on his table before strolling to the door to open. 

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked, bowing his head so that he wouldn't have to look at her. 

The woman was glaring at him, as usual. He could feel that expression, that hostile look on her face whenever she looked at him. 

"Someone has called the residence," she said, voice piercing through Riku's ears. He hated her voice. 

He shrugged. He half expected her to slap him for that kind of response but, hell, he wasn't interested in that crap. Who cared if someone called? Didn't everyone always call? 

"It was a girl. Someone from your school, I think," she went on, not once shifting in her position. She always stood straight like a robot. She was an ice sculpture. Riku sometimes wondered how this woman could have given birth to him. 

"She said she knows about 'you and Sora'." 

Riku's eyes snapped up. Panic rose in him as he looked into his mother's eyes. She was wearing her make up as usual and those painted eyes seemed lifeless and cold. His gaze came to rest on her red lips. He feared those lips when they moved. 

"You and Sora. Who, Riku, is Sora? Don't tell me you have made friends with someone," she scoffed. 

Riku cringed at her voice. He started thinking of a possible answer, of something to make her stop talking to him. He also wondered who this girl was. Could it be Kairi? He didn't think it was she. Kairi wouldn't call and say something like that. It didn't sound like her. But then who? Someone of his fan club? A crazy girl who worshipped and stalked him? But why would a fan do that to him? Call his home saying she knows about _him and Sora_. And what did that mean anyway? 

"Whoever that Sora is," his mother ripped him out of his thoughts, "I don't want you to meet her. I will choose a fiancé for you early enough, you don't have to look for one." 

She (finally) shut her mouth and turned away. She scowled at Riku once more to make sure she had got her point across and then walked away, stiffly and mechanically but still somewhat graceful. 

Riku scowled at her retreating figure. Like hell he would stop meeting Sora. She didn't know him. She had no right to judge. Oh, how he hated her. He hated the fact that she fascinated him sometimes. Like when he wondered how she could be a human being. Or how anyone could stand her sight. 

--- 

Sora came home, seeing his mother opening the door as she had come home, too. 

"Mom!" he called, running towards her. Ryoko turned at the voice and blinked as Sora pounced her. 

"Hiiiii!" he beamed, grinning from ear to ear. 

His mother raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "Hmmmm now what could have caused you to jump me like that? Why are you so happy?" 

Sora giggled and let go off her, bouncing on his feet. 

"No reason," he responded, picking up Riku's language, while he crossed his arms behind his head. Ryoko smiled and shrugged, walking in to sit down on the couch. 

"Now, now. Be a nice boy and bring your old, hard-working mother something to drink." 

Sora chuckled and stuck out his tongue. "You're not old, you can do it yourself!" 

Ryoko glared and punched her son playfully. "Aww come ooon! I'm tired!" she whined, getting extremely childish. Sora grinned and decided to do what she wanted. He was far to happy to do anything else. 

He brought her a glass of water and sat down with her, beginning to tell about his day. 

Sometime during his tale, Ryoko exclaimed things like "Oh how sweet!" and "Holy penguin, you did what?!" and then something like "Awwwww…." 

He told her every detail, ok, so not _every_ single detail like all the stuff he felt awkward about. The kisses and all… But he told her about them watching TV together and he told her about the huge palace they lived in. 

When it was time, Ryoko had to leave for work again. She told Sora to make himself some sandwiches for dinner and that she would be back at midnight. 

Sora waved at her as she left. 

Then he was alone. He sat on the couch, wondering when Riku would call. He had said he would call. Already one hour had passed. As he waited for the phone to ring he began to think again. He remembered wondering about Riku and Kairi's relationship before he came to the dreamland palace. He didn't know why he felt a little jealous when he thought of them being friends. Well, it wasn't them being friends that made him jealous. It was the fact that they could be _more_ than friends. Which shouldn't really make him jealous either because it wasn't like he and Riku were… 

Sora stopped. The phone was ringing, and it had been ringing for quite a while now without him noticing because he was too busy pondering. 

He quickly went to pick up. 

"Hey, love." 

Sora grinned. 

"Hey yourself, hunny bunny." 

And so they talked. One would think that there wasn't much to talk but they always seemed to find things to talk about. Often they would lose track of the topic and go into random joking but even that, or especially that, was fun. Sora loved every moment of their conversation, no matter if they were talking or not. 

Because when they weren't, they would just stand there and listen to each other's breathing; and it seemed the silence could tell so much more than words ever did. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: **Wondering who that girl was who called? Me too! I really don't know who it was. Maybe it's just a random idiot? Or was it Kairi???? But she has no reason to do that. Kairi will have a different role in here... also, wondering what Riku's mom meant with fiancé? You think she's gonna get another stuck up girl like herself here to marry Riku? Like, their marriage is arranged and all even though they don't even know each other? And what of Sora?   
I'm rambling waaaaaay too much here. Any suggestions would be nice. You can state it in your reviews (yes please reviews are nice!) or email me or IM me or send your opinion through telepathy!   
Anything is fine.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's apology: ** This is my first attempt at forcing myself to write even though I am having a complete writer's block. It's never been that bad but I suppose everyone experiences that once in a while  
However, I still got to write this... I don't like it much. I was hoping to get out of my slump after the first few paragraphs but it simply doesn't work.   
Whatever. Here's the next chapter, not really good, but still. Trying to insert some plot here... don't kill me! it's not as worse as it's gonna seem...

========= 

Sora lay in his bed, thinking about the things that had happened so far. He had been at Riku's place…the biggest palace he had ever seen. Everything there was just awesome, much like Riku himself. Everything there was the total opposite of things here. 

Sora rolled over to lie on his stomach. Burying his head in his pillow, he inhaled deeply and tried to imagine Riku's scent. When he concentrated hard enough he could still smell the lingering scent of his cologne…Dreamer it was called. He would never forget that name. 

Dreamer. Kairi had given it to him. 

Sora tilted his head to the side, resting his cheek against his pillow as he blew out his breath noisily. 

What was up with Kairi and Riku? Why couldn't he stop thinking that there was, or at least had been something between them? It seemed everything they did, every little thing, was reason enough to assume they were _really_ close. But then again everything he did with Riku meant even more. It got him wondering whether people assumed things about them, too. 

But then he remembered everyone hating Kairi for being Riku's friend. They were all too busy hating and plotting against Kairi to notice that Sora was the one having a special place in Riku's heart. 

He stopped in his thoughts. Did he really think he had a special place in Riku's heart? Was it true? 

Sora rolled over yet again to lie on his back and crossed his arms behind his head. Staring up at the ceiling, he began to think, frowning and pouting at the same time. 

However, when a yawn escaped his lips, he realized how tired he really was; and when he looked at the clock – it said it was already after midnight again – he promptly closed his eyes and drifted. There were still so many things on his mind, especially those things he felt towards Riku and the curiosity about Kairi, but he was simply too tired to care. 

He fell asleep. 

--- 

When morning came, Sora was strangely sober. He wasn't tired and groggy as he thought he would be. He wasn't energetic on this particular day, probably because the weather wasn't especially nice either, but he wasn't all that tired. 

Riku came to get him as usual, standing in front of his door with an umbrella big enough for two people. He extended his hand with a smile. 

Sora smiled back and let himself be pulled under the shelter. The rain was heard sizzling down on them, descending in millions of tiny drops. Riku wrapped his free arm around Sora's waist and pulled him close, leaning in to give him a short kiss on the lips. 

"Good morning," he whispered, nuzzling Sora's nose. 

The brunet boy blushed and looked down, smiling. 

"Morning…" he mumbled before he took a deep breath. Riku watched him in amusement as he pulled away, stepping away from the umbrella to stand in the rain. He spread his arms and spun around once, grinning suddenly. 

After that, he shook his head like a puppy, splashing tiny drops into all directions, including Riku's face. 

"Didn't get to shower this morning," he cheekily replied to Riku's slightly bemused look. Then he hopped back under the umbrella and firmly took Riku's hand, squeezing it lightly to indicate he was ready to go. 

They walked in silence, listening to the sound of rain pattering down on the umbrella. It was beautiful day, Sora suddenly thought. His mood had been rather moderate but now it seemed to rise. He felt Riku entwine their fingers and smiled. However, that wasn't all Riku was doing and Sora squeaked as the silver haired boy leaned in to place a kiss on his neck. 

"Wha-wha-what?" he stammered, reaching up to rub the spot that had been kissed. He could feel it tingling where the lips had touched him. He blushed. 

Riku shrugged and looked away. 

"Just…felt like it," he answered. And that was all. No words were exchanged after that. The boys simply walked and soon the voices of students were audible. They were here. 

"Look! It's Riku!" a girl suddenly screamed. It wasn't unusual for her to do it, everyone did. Sora sighed and let go of Riku's hand, knowing the ritual already. 

Dozens of fans came rushing to their God and showered him with gifts and squeals and what not. Sora stepped away, subtly standing somewhere in the corner, waiting for the spectacle to end. 

"You're amazing," someone suddenly said and Sora turned his head. He saw Kairi smiling at him. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, wondering why she always popped out of nowhere and why she was never with those girls – always alone, always there when you needed her. 

The girl shrugged her shoulders and turned away to look at Riku. She had this smile on her lips, a smile Sora couldn't understand. He often thought her smile was genuine but there was something sad to it. He wasn't really sure what it meant. 

"It's hard to stand in the corner while everyone gets a piece of him, huh?" Kairi murmured, still watching the crazy people around Riku. 

Sora followed her gaze. He saw Riku swiftly avoiding their arms, always moving away elegantly so that no one really noticed. In a way, he played with them. Let them believe he actually liked them, let them believe he was the thing they worshipped. A thing. Sora remembered what Riku had said. He thought he was a thing, something people wanted to have. 

"He's a good person," Sora mumbled, more to himself than to Kairi. However, the girl seemed to take that as an answer and smiled. 

"That's why you're so amazing. You like him so much…and you still manage to step away when they're around." 

Sora's head snapped to Kairi. He stared at her as if he finally understood her. His eyes were wide and then he frowned, and then blinked. He seemed confused for a moment and turned away again. 

'She…she likes him, doesn't she?' he asked himself. It came to him like a revelation. 'We're…we're the same..…she likes him… but she pretends it's ok when everyone else wants him…' He cast a short glance at her, seeing that strange smile again. It hurt suddenly to look at her. Kairi liked Riku as much as Sora did, didn't she? But he realized that he was spending much more time with Riku than Kairi…was that why she was always alone? Was that the reason her smile was always so sad? And why, he wondered, did it make him so sad to look at her? … 

The bell rang. 

--- 

The day ended faster than expected. Periods seemed to go by like nothing and suddenly Sora was already standing at the gates, waiting for Riku. They sometimes had to split up, each other them having different lessons but they always waited for each other at the end of the day to go home together. 

It was still raining and Sora had no umbrella but he didn't care. He liked the rain as it pattered down on him, soaking him. It always brought back memories of his childhood when he stood in the rain like this. The only thing that bothered him now was that it was slightly colder than he would have liked. 

He sighed and leaned against the metal frame of the gate as others passed him to go home. 

He hadn't really paid attention to the teachers today, mostly because he had been so deep in thought about Kairi and Riku, but also because Riku had managed to distract him many times. He began to wonder if people actually noticed the things they did, those little gestures like holding hands or those short hugs… No one ever said anything, no one seemed to care. Most people were too set on their hatred for Kairi to notice anything else… 

There she was again, Kairi. No matter what he thought, he would always come back to her. She was a mystery to him and it bothered him. 

When he looked at the building, he saw her coming out. She was walking alone, as usual. She, too, had no umbrella and she didn't seem to mind. When she saw Sora she smiled and waved, walking past him to leave. Sora turned around to watch her go away and he found himself staring as though he was in a daze. She was always alone. And she didn't seem to mind. 

He heard chattering and laughter and turned back to the building where he saw lots of students walking out, talking about this and that. Selphie and Tidus were among them, and another boy with fire red hair. They seemed to be having fun as the redhead put Tidus in a headlock while Selphie cheered. 

Riku came strolling behind them, looking bored. As soon as he saw Sora, though, he smiled – and it was that smile that he would only save for Sora. The true smile. Of course he was followed by extremely noisy fans who kept trying to cling to him. However, he managed to get free of every grip and told them to stay away. They did what he said. Most of the fans swooned just because he had talked to them. 

When he reached Sora he hugged him, ignoring everyone else around them. He didn't care if anyone saw them. He just wouldn't care. 

"Finally get to see you," he murmured, squeezing Sora. 

"We saw each other about an hour ago," Sora commented in amusement as Riku pulled away to put up his umbrella. 

"Too long," Riku complained, sounding like a little child. Sora smiled. 

Together, they walked down the street. Sora held onto Riku's arm even though he was a bit embarrassed to do this. Only girls did that, he thought, trying his best not to blush. However, he wanted the warmth of their closeness, for the weather wasn't exactly nice. It was getting colder and the wind reached a state of iciness sometimes. 

"Are you cold?" Riku eventually asked, feeling Sora shiver slightly. 

The brunet shook his head. "I'm fine," he lied through chattering teeth, cursing his body for being so weak. Riku didn't seem to be affected by the cold at all… 

The silver haired body sighed and pushed him away from his arm. Sora blinked, surprised at first, but then realized Riku was putting his arm around him to pull him close. 

"You should wear more…it's getting colder these days," Riku scolded, half sounding like a parent. Not like his own parents because they never said anything like that. It was the servant's job to dress Riku when he didn't do it himself. 

"Yeah, yeah…." Sora muttered, not really wanting to admit that he was wrong. So that was it. Riku was wearing more than him… "But I'm really fine," he added, trying to sound believable, which was hard with the chattering teeth. 

Riku smiled and pulled him yet a little closer. They continued to walk and passed the convenience store. Suddenly, Sora stopped. 

He looked up at Riku and opened his mouth to say something. He needed to get it out, needed to speak his mind. But could he really? And if he did, shouldn't he be asking Kairi this? 

However, he didn't say a word. Just turned away again and shrugged, continuing to walk again. 

Riku was a little puzzled about that but ignored it until they reached Sora's house. 

Sora sneezed and trembled slightly from the cold. Riku put away the umbrella, setting it down at the door and then wrapped his arms fully around Sora, standing under the shelter of the protruded roof. Sora heaved a pleased sigh, comforted by the warmth and surrounded by the beautiful scent he loved so much. It gave him a feeling of being one with Riku when they hugged like that. 

"I have to get home, though…" Riku murmured, reluctantly letting go of Sora, who clung to him. 

"Can't you stay?" Sora asked, sneezing once again. "I'm cold." 

Riku chuckled and patted his friend's head, smirking slightly at him. "You're at home, Sora. You can go change into something warmer or go inside. You don't need me," he explained as though he was talking to a child. 

Sora pouted and shook his head. "I do need you!" 

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What for?" he asked, crossing his arms. 

Sora stopped. He suddenly couldn't think of anything good to tell him. He couldn't think of a good thing he needed Riku for. 'That's because I need him period. For everything…' he thought, slumping his shoulders slightly. He couldn't tell Riku that. 

The silver haired boy took that as an answer and frowned. So Sora didn't need him? 

He shrugged and turned around, picking up his umbrella again. Sora watched him and before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed Riku's hand to turn him around, snaking his arms around his neck to pull him down. 

They didn't kiss. Their lips were only a hairbreadth apart but they didn't kiss. Just stayed like that for a while, looking into each other's eyes before closing them. They leaned in but only with their foreheads touching and Riku placed his hands on Sora's waist. 

"Has Kairi always been alone?" Sora suddenly asked, still leaning against Riku. 

"Yes," Riku simply answered, not understanding what Sora was aiming at. 

The brunet pulled away then and rested his head on Riku's shoulder. 

"Have you never been with her? So she isn't alone anymore?" he found himself asking without really meaning to. 

Riku was silent then. He seemed to be thinking, or maybe he was avoiding to answer, Sora didn't know. Actually, Sora knew nothing anymore. Didn't know why he was asking those questions. Didn't know why he cared so much. 

"We've been together…" 

Sora's eyes widened; his heart beat faster. 

"…alone. We were both… always outsiders. Me, being chased by everyone…and Kairi…simply being herself. She had been like those girls before, or at least she had tried to be one. Then she realized she wasn't like that and became the way she is. Kairi…is nice. She's always been there for me even though I pushed her away…" Riku trailed off. He seemed to be lost in memories now. 

"We've never been really close but she was the closest person I had…" 

It occurred to Sora that Riku used past tense to speak of his relationship with Kairi. 

"But she was never a friend. She wasn't ever something…something like…" Riku pulled away so he could look properly at Sora. 

"Like you," he finished, having that adorable sincere and naïve look on his face. He could look so childlike and innocent at times. It was a side no one knew of him, no one but Sora. 

Sora cocked his head. "What am I?" he quietly asked, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. This question had been burning in his heart for so long now. One of those questions that kept spinning in his mind. 

Riku turned away. He licked his lips and Sora saw it, saw only that. He couldn't focus on anything but Riku's gestures now. The way his eyes moved around as he kept his head low, or the way he began to twist his hands a bit. Sora could only see that for a moment and then his eyes caught the sight of Riku's lips. 

"…friend…" the lips said and he could hear it, too. It came out tentative and helpless. Riku looked up at Sora in anxiety, not knowing whether he had said the right thing. Sure they were friends. Was there anything else they could be? 

Sora felt heavy again. If one weight had been lifted off his chest before, another one had appeared now. 

His words came out anxiously and timidly but he said it anyway. "Do…Do friends kiss?" 

Riku tensed. He looked away quickly, avoiding eye contact at any cost now. Did friends kiss? He wasn't sure. Did friends feel funny when they were around each other? He didn't know. It was his first time! How was he supposed what it was like to have a friend? 

Sora sighed. He noticed how troubled Riku suddenly was and he decided that he didn't like that. 

"Well…even if they don't…then I guess we're just strange…" he mumbled, slowly reaching out to take Riku's hand. 

"Then just let's be really weird friends, how is that? Friends doing stuff that others don't do." 

It was the best answer he could think of now. Why do what everyone else did? They could do whatever they wanted. 

Riku began to smile eventually and nodded, if only reluctantly. 

Then they realized how late it was and Riku had to hurry home before his parents freaked out again. 

"I like you a lot…" Riku murmured. He gave Sora a kiss and smiled. 

Sora smiled, too and kissed him back. "I know," he cheekily replied, grinning adorably at Riku. "And I like you, too." 

They almost forgot that Riku had to go and were already about to hug some more but the watch on Riku's wrist protested. It beeped because he had set a timer when he should be at home. He had to be careful nowadays with his parents. He couldn't afford getting home too late. 

Sora heaved an annoyed sigh but nodded as Riku gave him an apologetic look. He turned and waved before he ran off in a hurry. 

Sora couldn't understand why he had to be at home all the time. What was he doing all day? He didn't understand how those so-called parents could keep him caged like that all the time. 

Sneezing because of the sudden loss of warmth, Sora decided to go in and hide under his blanket. He hated that awful weather anyway so why stay outside. 

Not that he hated rain; no, he liked rain. He just hated the cold weather and the wind bruising him with its iciness. The wisest thing to do on such a day was to hop into bed and wrap the blanket around yourself. That, and thinking of Riku... 

--- 

At home, things weren't looking too good. Riku came home seeing that there was a lot of noise and ruckus going on. His mother was somewhere ordering maids around and it seemed to be another one of those dinner parties. However, this time, the mistress of the house seemed to be in a very strange mood, changing from happy to frustrated from second to second. 

"No! Not into that corner, you idiot! How many times do I have to tell you that the yellow roses stand in the left corner next to the stairs! It's the yellow carnations that go into the right corner!" 

Riku rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the topics she yelled about. 

"Did you put the canapé on the silver plate?! Didn't I tell you to use the gold plates? And—oh, no no no no! The candles mustn't be lightened yet! You have to wait until the first guests arrives!" 

She ran from maid to maid, butler to butler, always complaining about something. But at the same time she seemed happy, ecstatic, if one could say that. 

The whole thing seemed strange, though, because today even Riku's father was present and he was ordering people around. It wasn't just a normal dinner party, Riku figured. Something was going on. 

Suddenly, he was spotted by his mother and much to his horror, she came to him. 

"Riku! There you are! Go and change your clothes, you look awful! I will send you five servants to get your ready for this evening, now go!" She was overly excited and that meant her voice was ten times higher. It was awful to listen to that piercing sound. 

"What's going on?" Riku asked only to see his mother running away to scold at yet another person. Why did he have to change? What was going on here? He decided to ask his father and walked towards him. 

However, the man was too busy explaining something to a servant that the boy got no chance to say anything. Sighing, Riku trotted towards the stairs to go to his room. He was accompanied by five servants, just like his mother promised. 

"What's this about?" he asked those people, people he rarely knew but who worked for him. He wondered if they were the same as always or if the servants switched after time. He couldn't remember their faces so he wouldn't know if that was a new person or the same person who changed his diapers. He inwardly cringed at that thought. 

"But Master Riku, aren't you aware of this evening's occasion?" one of the butlers asked. 

Riku shrugged. "No?" 

They reached his room and went inside. While his clothes were being laid out, a maid explained. 

"The mistress has invited every family with a daughter to this banquet. You are going to choose your bride tonight!" the maid excitedly exclaimed only to cover her mouth shortly afterwards. She blushed and uttered a hurried apology for her outburst. 

"This is a very special evening for you, Master Riku," she murmured, bowing before him as he was fully dressed in his best clothes. They brushed his hair and Riku found it a bit ridiculous. He wasn't a girl. He let his hair fall freely instead of brushing it. Still, the servants were obligated to do it. 

When he was ready he looked at himself in the mirror. 

"So this means mom's trying to marry me already?" He shifted in his position, watching his reflection in the mirror. 

"Oh, no, Master Riku. The marriage is planned when you reach legal age. But you will be engaged to the chosen girl until that time arrives, so you can get to know each other." 

Riku snorted. "Getting to know each other? You mean I'll be engaged to some idiot girl for 6 years and then I have to marry her? Don't I have anything to say about this? When was this planned?" He suddenly lost his temper, thinking of Sora. He wanted to tell him, wanted to complain to him and Sora would make him feel better. 

"It has been planned for about a month. Nobody was allowed to tell you. It was supposed to be a surprise." 

Riku groaned. Surprise, yeah. Sure. He hated surprises. 

"Well, leave me alone now," he muttered, ushering out the servants. He wanted to be alone now. They obeyed and left without another word. 

Riku let himself fall onto his bed. So, tonight was his engagement? He snorted. It suddenly reminded him of what his mother had said the day before, about the thing with someone knowing about him and Sora. She said she was going to choose a fiancée for him soon enough. Who could've known that this 'soon' meant 'tonight'?! 

He moaned. Curling up into a ball, Riku growled at his misery. Why did it have to be like this? He didn't want to be married to a girl like his mother. He didn't want to be married to a girl, period. Who was thinking of love and marriage at this time, anyway? All he wanted to do was go to school, be with Sora, have fun…be with Sora. He wanted Sora. Not a stupid girl. 

Riku sighed. What was it like to be engaged? Did he have to be friends with his fiancée? Probably, yes. But how could he when he didn't even know the person? He couldn't imagine feeling something as strong as the thing he felt for Sora. He just couldn't feel like that for anyone. 

A thought entered his mind but he dismissed it quickly because of his ridiculousness. Sora should be his fiancé! This would solve all their problems. They would _know_ what they were to each other. They would be together and no one would say anything against it. This was probably the best thing that could happen… 

With the only problem that it wouldn't happen. He couldn't marry a boy. Not that he really wanted to. He wouldn't want to marry Sora because marrying was…marrying was… 

Riku groaned. He was 15! Which 15-year old thought of marrying?! This was so stupid… 

A knock on the door stopped him from bawling. 

"Master Riku, your mother awaits you now," a butler announced. The door was opened and Riku strode out in a sulky fashion, keeping his arms crossed as he walked down the stairs. 'Screw this,' he thought. He didn't want to be here now. He just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Maybe he would wake up from this nightmare soon… 

"Riku, there you are." 

He turned his head to see his parents standing at the front door, waiting for the first guest to arrive. 

"You stay here. A good host has to greet their guests when they arrive." 

He was placed next to the servants, at the big wooden doors. He kept his sulking face to make his point. His father gave him a look, almost seeming as though he understood, whereas his mother completely ignored it. 

When the first car was heard parking outside, Riku's heart stopped. This was it. The first guest was arriving, the first family with a potential fiancée. 

He felt like throwing up. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Yes, you probably want to kill me right now, screaming "WHAT!? RIKU IS GONNA MARRY?!" and stuff like that... he's not REALLY gonna marry, ok? There'll this thing with the fiancèe and all but this is a SoraxRiku fic and it's gonna stay this way... just making it more difficult for the two. But everything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger...and so Sora and Riku will only love each other more...or something.   
Whatever. Really, don't hate me for this. It's spicing up things, nothing more. There'll be enough fluff and cute stuff, though. Sora and Riku just scream for that   
If I ever get out of this slump, you can expect a nice fluffy chapter following this one. 

review please. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Quick update! I was inspired suddenly, you could say it was fate lol. Coco Lee rocks. Her songs are great. Made me wanna write   
Anywayz, this chapter...read it to know what happens! - No spoilers here hehe... except for.. maybe... umm.... naaahhh :P   
go read! 

========= 

The first guest arrived. When the door was opened, Riku felt his heart jump out of his chest and he was sure he would have to step on it before it ran away. 

There were a man and a woman, probably the parents, and a girl with long, blonde hair. She was beautiful, no doubt, but Riku disliked her at once. Why? Because of the following reason: 

"Oh, hello! My name is Annica! I'm so happy to meet you! Say, can we go and make a tour around the house? I'm sure you can lead me around! Oh, I've heard so much about you but you're even cuter in person! Did you always look like that? What's with the silver hair? Ohh it's so shiny! You use hair conditioner?" 

Riku zoned out after the fifth sentence and simply stood there, staring into space. First candidate – no chance. 

The adults seemed to be starting a conversation and Riku thought he heard his mother asking about the girl's education and social status and what not. A lot of stupid things, he figured. 

The second family wasn't much better, the girl was almost three times taller than him, seemed really mean and didn't look like a girl at all. He was almost afraid of her. Luckily she didn't have enough references to be chosen by his mother, so he was quite save on that one. 

More and more guests arrived, all families with daughters, one uglier than the other. It surprised him how stupid some girls were and he wondered if all girls were like that. They constantly squealed about dumb things, rambled endlessly like they were on speed and the worst thing of all: they giggled. They giggled and it sounded creepy. Riku wanted to run away and hide somewhere. 

So that's what he did. 

Sometime after the threehundredandthirtysixth (actually he'd given up on counting after the first dozen of shocks) family had arrived, he excused himself, saying he needed to go somewhere. His parents didn't seem to care because they were too deeply discussing the potential of the guests, inspecting the girls like they were a piece of meat. And they kind of were. 

Meanwhile Riku managed to sneak upstairs, running to his room as soon as he reached the corridor. He opened his door, jumped inside and shut it, cursing his mother for taking the key. He would have liked to lock the door but he wasn't allowed to do that and had no key for it. 

The cell phone was lying on his bed. It seemed like it's new place, always lying in bed so he could talk to Sora before going to sleep. He went to it and picked it up, dialling his friend's number. He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, hating how it choked him somewhat, and waited for Sora to pick up. 

After the second ringing sound he heard a voice. 

"Hello! Ryoko speaking!" 

It surprised him and for a second he didn't know what to say. Ryoko? Sora's mother, right? He was frozen in place. 

"Um, hello? Hi? Anyone there? Huh? Penguin?" 

Riku blinked. Penguin? And before he knew what he was doing he started laughing. 

"Riku!" the woman exclaimed and he was sure she was grinning. How did she know it was him? 

"Well, no one else calls, honestly, and I remember your voice pretty well…" 

Was she reading his mind? When he finally did say something, it wasn't really polite. 

"I want Sora," he said, cursing himself after the words left his mouth. Great. Go call his mom and say you want her son. It sounded awful! 

Ryoko just chuckled and sighed. "Yeah, wait a second, he's in the bathroom. Silly little Sora couldn't eat properly and had to stain his clothes…idiot," she mumbled in amusement. 

Riku smiled at those words, wondering why the relationship between Sora and his mother was so good. They were like friends, always joking with each other… He also noticed how childlike Ryoko was. When she first answered the phone he thought it was Sora because of the way they spoke. They were similar in a lot of ways. 

"So, how's life?" the woman eventually asked, tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. Sora was still not done cleaning his clothes. 

Riku was silent. "Umm…" He didn't want to tell her about the whole fiancée thing. It was…kind of personal. 

"Anything I can help you with?" she then asked, feeling that something wasn't quite all right. 

Riku shrugged. "No…I guess not. It's just…just…" Should he tell her? She seemed trustworthy but what would it matter? Telling her wasn't going to change anything… 

"You know, I'm an adult. I know I don't seem like it but I am! And if there's a problem, I can take care of it. Sora's had a lot of problems and I helped him…so if you ever need help…" 

This made him smile. Ryoko was sure nice. She didn't even know him very well but was still willing to help? What kind of person was she? He had never met anyone like that before. Excluding Sora, of course. 

"It's just that…I'll be engaged to someone soon…" he muttered, wondering what she would say about this. 

"Ah! Sora! Sora, come here, it's Riku!" was the woman's reply and Riku could hear Sora's voice over the phone. His mood changed immediately from anxious and depressed to utterly happy just because he could hear Sora complaining about the stains not going off his clothes. 

Ryoko told him she would take care of it later and he should just go answer the phone now. And that he did. 

"Riku?"

Riku moaned. "Sora! Finally!" 

It made the other boy blush and he chuckled slightly. "What's up? You sound…strange…" He smiled. 

Riku chuckled, too and he wished Sora were there to hug him. Talking on the phone was nice but having Sora here would be so much nicer. 

"Sora, you gotta help me…" 

He told the boy all about the horrible things going on in his house, about the stupid girls and his parents and his worries. He told Sora everything he could think of, ranting without even stopping to breathe. And when he finally did stop, Sora was immediately ready to answer. 

"Come over to my place! You can stay here for the night! Mom says it's all right!" It all sounded so easy when he suggested it. Well, it wasn't just a suggestion, more of an order the way it sounded. 

Riku shook his head. "Sora…it's not that easy…" He heaved a long sigh and lay down on his bed, clutching to the receiver. He could hear Sora's breathing now and it was just as though he was with him. If he closed his eyes and concentrated enough, it was almost as though he was right there… 

"Then I'll come over. I know the way," Sora suddenly said, jerking Riku out of his imagination. 

"What?" 

Sora smiled. "You said I could come whenever I want and that's what I'll do. I wanna see you now and I'll be there before you can say apple pie." 

Riku blinked. Sora was going to come over? NOW? 

"But—" 

"No buts, Riku. As I said, I'll be there…" 

"Apple pie," Riku suddenly said, turning to the balcony almost subconsciously. Then he snorted. "You lied," he added, smirking as he heard Sora's sigh. He was sure the boy was rolling his eyes right now. 

"Ok, maybe not before you can say apple pie…but really fast. You just wait." 

Riku considered this for a while. Then he shook his head. "No, Sora…you can't. I beg you not to come." 

He stopped then, holding his breath in fear he had said the wrong thing. Begging Sora not to come to him, it was like the greatest rejection one could utter. But it was important… his parents couldn't see Sora. He didn't want to lose him. 

Sora was silent, it almost seemed as though he had left the phone but then Riku could hear the soft breathing again and he closed his eyes. He began to breathe in the same rhythm as Sora, unintentionally, and they remained like that for some time. 

"I wish things were easier…" Riku whispered, almost inaudibly, almost to himself. But Sora heard it, Sora knew it was meant for him to hear it and he felt the impact it had on him. He let the things Riku had told him replay in his mind. He had told him that girls were flooding his home, all of them being a potential fiancée. Riku was going to be engaged. Riku, _his_ Riku was going to be engaged. 

Sora blinked. Had he just thought of Riku as _his_? 

"We'll pull through, right?" Sora murmured, trying to smile so Riku could hear the hope in his voice. He had learned that trick from his mother. Always saying 'we will pull through' and smile. Then everything would get better. It was encouraging. Encouraging yourself and everyone else. It always worked. 

And it did seem to have the right effect on Riku, for he smiled. 

Opening his eyes slowly he stared at the ceiling, pressing the receiver tightly to his ear, wanting to hear everything on Sora's side. Sora's side. He wanted to be there. It seemed like he was in another world, another dimension. And he wanted to be there, so badly. He didn't want to be in this world, his world. He wanted to go to Sora. 

"I'll always be there for you," Sora suddenly said, completely sober and serious. He sounded as though he meant it. Riku knew he meant it. 

"I don't deserve you…" he muttered weakly, wondering how Sora could be so nice to him all the time. Ryoko was the same, as he had noticed before. They were just…what were they? Angels? Riku remembered seeing movies and reading books about people like Sora and his mom. They were angels in disguise who had come to earth to help those who needed it. 

"I care for you and that's all that mat—" 

He was cut off by a knock on Riku's door. He could hear it through the phone. 

Riku jerked at the sudden noise. "Shit." 

Sora listened closer, wanting to hear what was happening at Riku's place. The silver haired boy was stock still, daring not to breathe as he clutched to the receiver. 'No, don't. Not now. Please.' 

Another knock. Then a voice. 

"Riku. I know you're hiding in there. Riku." 

He gulped. Turning his attention back to Sora, he took a deep breath. "Sora…I gotta hang up. I'll call you later, though." 

Sora was about to protest but Riku hung up before he could even open his mouth. 

"Damn you…" the brunet muttered, frowning in worry. His mother frowned, too and patted his head. 

Riku rushed off his bed and went to open his door. Strangely enough his father had been decent enough not to enter his room before he opened up. At least he knew how to leave him a little privacy. 

"Son, I can understand this is really uncomfortable for you but you need to come down. Your mother seems to have found a really nice girl and she wants you to meet her." The man put his arm around his son in a buddy-kind of way to show his sympathy. Riku realized how little he hated his father. He had always blamed his _parents_ for everything but now he noticed how understanding his father actually was. It was his mother who was evil. Why did he marry that woman anyway? 

Suddenly, a thought entered the boy's mind. Could it have been a forced marriage? Like the one he had to go through now? Was he going to marry a girl like his mother, having to live with her, having to have a child with her whom his wife treated as badly as his mother treated him? Was this all going to repeat over and over again? 

"Get out of your thoughts and of this room, son. You're gonna meet a really nice girl. Even if you don't want to marry her, you'll like her." 

The man scratched his head and scrunched up his face curtly. "I do wonder how she got here, though…she's not one with many references…" he hummed to himself, putting a hand to his chin while he thought. Then he shrugged, mumbling to himself, "Well, probably they've got connections." 

And social connections she had. 

When Riku went downstairs with his father his eyes fell on the girl his mother was talking to. 

And he gaped. 

Eyes met, a smile, a wink, a blush. Riku didn't know why he was blushing or why this girl was winking at him but he was sure as hell shocked out of his mind when he saw her and realized he recognized her. 

Slowly, mechanically, he walked towards her. Frowning all the while, he inspected her. 

A simple, light blue dress. No fancy ribbons or flowers. A simple dress. What the hell? And she passed? What was his mother thinking? 

"Riku? There you are. Finally." The woman rolled her beautiful dark eyes. She yanked her boy on his arm, towards the girl. "Greet our guest." 

The girl smiled gently and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Kairi, nice to meet you." 

Another wink. A confused look. 

"What?" 

He felt his mother smack him. "What was that? Is that how you greet people?!" she shrieked before her husband patted her arm to shush her. 

Riku was confused. He looked at his father, then at Kairi, then at the crowd. He thought of Sora, of school, of Sora worrying about Kairi being all alone. He looked at Kairi again. 

"Riku," he simply said, taking and shaking her hand. 

She nodded and smiled again. "Your mother is such a nice person," she airily announced, tilting her head slightly to the side. Riku was tempted to snort but held it back for the sake of his cheek. He didn't need to get slapped by his mother _again_. 

"So, now, go and talk to her," the woman instructed as though she was instructing a servant how to serve the food. She ushered the kids away to discuss other things with Kairi's parents, who were standing a little away from them. 

--- 

"What the hell are you doing here?!" 

"I have no clue!" 

"What do you mean you have no clue?" 

"My parents dragged me here saying this is my big chance! What's going on anyway? I figured they shouldn't know we're classmates, seeing as your mother hates you associating with us lowlifes." 

Kairi's tone was slightly sarcastic and it sounded more honest, better than the fake voice she had used before. She was sure a good actress. 

"How did you pass anyway? With that dress…" Riku muttered, gesturing up and down. 

The girl blinked and looked herself over. "What'cha talking about? I look great!" she declared, giggling slightly. 

Riku rolled his eyes. "No ribbons. No pendants. No flowers. You look too normal to be one of the wannabe fiancées." 

Kairi blinked at that. "Huh? Wannabe fiancées?" 

Reaching out to take her hand, Riku led Kairi into a corner where they could talk more privately about this. He couldn't believe how relieved he suddenly felt, knowing that at least one sane person was in this house. Well, if you could count Kairi sane… 

"You mean I'm gonna be forced to marry you?!" she suddenly shrieked, finally catching on what was going on. 

He nodded. Then clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her from more hysterical shrieking. He blushed as he remembered what Sora had done when he shut him up. It brought a tingling sensation with the memory and he licked his lips as he sunk into his thoughts. 

Kairi was still mildly horrified by the news. She hadn't really thought this was the reason she was here. Her parents had dragged her here. She had come home from school, ready to go play some tennis (she played tennis in her free time while in school she was cheerleader to be popular), when her parents suddenly dragged her out of her room, and into those clothes. It was the best they could find. Kairi didn't have many dresses. She had skirts, yes, short skirts that you could stretch. Things to wear for playing tennis. Trainers, she had. Tops she had. But no dresses. No fancy, ribbon adorned dresses for dinner parties. So they took the best they had. 

A plain, light blue dress. And it fit her. 

As they arrived at Riku's mansion, she immediately wondered what this was all about. How come she was invited to one of those exclusive dinner parties? She knew her parents had their _connections_ to get free tickets for concerts and stuff but she never thought they would get an invitation from this family. The richest family in town, probably in the country. 

"Don't get me wrong but I really don't want to marry you," Kairi suddenly said. 

Riku, who was still in his thoughts of Sora, barely registered her voice. He did turn to her, though, as she tugged on his hand. Close contact wasn't his thing, so he scowled at the hand. She let go off him sheepishly and sighed. 

"You're strange," he remarked as he thought over what she had said. She didn't want to marry him?? Wasn't it every girl's dream to marry this Riku? This perfect, god-like, precious thing? 

"Hey, hey, just because I'm not one of your groupies it doesn't mean I'm strange!" Kairi crossed her arms and pouted, reminding Riku a bit of Sora, however Sora was much cuter than Kairi. No offence. 

"It's just that…" she began to twiddle her thumbs now, looking down at her feet. Was she blushing? And was that a shy expression on her face? 

"I…I already like someone else, you know?" she quietly murmured, looking with her beautiful twinkling eyes. 

Riku was paralysed. Not because of her eyes. They were beautiful but not paralysing or mesmerizing. Sora's eyes were all that but Kairi's – no. He was, however, paralysed and surprised about the fact that Kairi liked someone. She actually liked someone _that way_ and she had just told Riku. And it wasn't Riku. 

"Who?" he found himself asking, feeling strangely anxious all of the sudden. Who could it be? Not him? Who then? Tidus, maybe? There were rumours and she did hang out with Tidus and Selphie lately… 

"I…I can't tell you…" she stammered, shaking her head repeatedly. 

Riku frowned. "Why not?" He was stubborn now. He was curious now. He needed to know. 

"Is it Tidus?" 

Kairi shook her head. What? Riku frowned. If it wasn't Tidus then who was it? There weren't many boys Kairi could like… Or maybe it was someone Riku didn't know. Then again, he knew a lot of people, being school's representative and all… 

"Do I know the person?" 

Kairi shook her head. Then she nodded. "Let's stop this!" She hastily declared, looking pointedly over Riku's shoulder. His mother was approaching. 

In a matter of seconds, her a whole attitude changed and she was smiling that fake smile again, ready to talk in that airy voice as before. 

"Now, how is it going?" the woman politely asked, smiling coldly at Kairi. No matter what she did, her smile was always cold. However, she seemed to like Kairi for some reason. It was strange. 

"Oh very good, thank you. We are slowly getting to know each other, isn't it so, Riku?" 

Riku wanted to vomit when he heard her talk like that. How well could Kairi act? She was switching personalities just like that. She was almost like…himself. 

Nodding, the lady left again to make some more small talk and to get more information on possible daughter-in-laws. 

And so, the evening went by, Kairi had vanished into the crowd after awhile as Riku got dragged away by a crazy fangirl who was supposed to be another possible fiancée. One thing he knew, though. He was not going to marry a girl who bossed him around. She had dark hair, almost black was it. She was beautiful, no doubt. Fair skin and full lips. Actually, she looked a bit like his mother, when he thought about it. The same kind of beauty. 

But she was such a bossy type. Dragging him around, telling him to do this and that. They weren't even engaged yet! They didn't even _know_ each other yet! He was glad when he finally got away from her. 

However, he only ran into another horrible thing that could have only been an accident rather than a human being. 

One of the 'it's-my-way-or-I'll-cry' types. And cry she did. 

Riku was exhausted to no end when the party finally ended. The guests left one by one, then in groups. It was getting late. 

Kairi found a short time alone with Riku where she could hug him without being eaten by the rest of the girls. 

"Sorry about this all," she whispered into his ear before she withdrew. 

He shrugged and raised his hand to dismiss her. She smiled and nodded. 

"See ya tomorrow," she quietly said, carefully keeping it secret that they knew each other from school. It wasn't like she was actually going to be engaged to him but it would just destroy the picture when his mother knew they were classmates. 

Eventually even the last guest left and the servants came out to clean the mess they had left. Plates were to be washed, decorations had to be removed, they were busy. 

Riku was allowed to go to his room, alone. His mother ignored him, as usual. Luckily (for Riku) and unfortunately for his mother, there hadn't been any clear result tonight. There was no fiancée as of yet. Riku's father gave him a nod to say he was dismissed for the rest of the day. 

Rest of the day was good, he bitterly thought, it was midnight. He had to get some sleep because there was school tomorrow. And most important of all, he had to get out of those clothes. 

When he reached his room, first thing he did was strip down to his boxers and spin around in his room a few times to feel the freedom. Freedom. Something he had not. 

Wandering across the room (it was so huge and he cursed it right now) he finally made it to his bed and let himself onto it, sinking into the mattress. He nearly landed on the cell phone. Cell phone. He'd said he would call Sora later. Later was good, he snorted. It was midnight. But then again, they had a habit of calling each other at midnight. It wasn't the first time they'd do that. 

Dialling Sora's number, Riku stretched and lay on his bed, spread out. 

A few ringing sounds, then Sora picked up. 

"I've been waiting," he said and Riku could hear the smile. With Sora, you could always tell he was smiling or pouting or frowning. It was so easy to picture him being there, in Riku's room…with him… 

Riku wanted to tell Sora about Kairi, that she was one of the possible fiancées but then he found he couldn't. He was too exhausted to go through that evening again. All he wanted was… 

"Let's pretend you're here…" he murmured, closing his eyes again. 

Sora cocked his head with a puzzled expression "huh?" 

Riku smiled. "Let's pretend you're with me… let me imagine you here…" 

Silence fell between them and Riku breathed in and out slowly, relaxing for the first time this day. Sora cleared his throat after a while and Riku smiled again. 

"Talk," he said, heaving a light sigh. 

Sora hummed and mumbled something, something Riku couldn't quite understand, before he actually began to talk. 

"Okay. So, I'll tell you about my day. I came home from school and then I had to do homework and when I was finished I made dinner because mom bought some stuff so we could cook. And umm… yeah while eating, I managed to get myself full of food… don't ask how…it's just…" 

Sora then explained how evil food was attacking him whenever he was just trying to eat the thing and Riku's smile broadened with every moment. He could actually see Sora before him, wearing that shirt with the hood, that chain around his neck, the belt around his waist… 

"What'cha wearing right now?" Sora suddenly asked, changing the topic instantly. 

Riku's eyes fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling. 

"Boxers," he blandly answered, kind of dazed as he had been pulled out of his imagination. 

Sora chuckled. "Nothing else?" He didn't really expect that this was all. 

Riku shrugged. "Nope." 

He could hear Sora choke then and he couldn't deny he was pleased by that. He smirked slightly, closing his eyes again. He drifted in his thoughts, thinking of various things… 

"And you?" he heard himself ask, but it was all so far away. In his mind, he was with Sora, was embracing him, close to him. 

"Well…I'm wearing that ridiculous panda pyjama mom bought my last Christmas." The brunet sighed in exasperation at his clothes, Riku could hear it. He could almost _see_ it, too. 

Then he tried to picture Sora with that pyjama. 

"What does it look like?" 

Sora made a sound of protest, which sounded awfully like a childish whine. "Don't ask! It's…it's…" 

He said it anyway. Riku smirked. 

"It's like a panda suit. No, not as bad as it sounds…but kind of… argh…you gotta see it to know what it looks like." 

Riku chuckled. "I'd love to." And he meant it. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to see Sora in his panda pyjama. It must have looked extremely adorable. Riku couldn't help wondering what Sora would look like _without_ that pyjama……. 

"Keep your mind out of the gutter," Sora warned, surprising Riku a bit. 

"What?" he innocently asked, although he had been caught like a child with its fingers in the cookie-jar. 

"Nothing," Sora responded, shrugging his shoulders. 

Riku sighed and turned to his side, curling up, receiver still at his hear. 

"Hey, Sora…" 

The brunet on the other side smiled. "Yes?" 

Riku tapped his fingers on the mattress. "I…I have piano lesson tomorrow afternoon. I was wondering…if you wanna come with me. So we can see each other." 

He didn't really expect Sora to say yes…but then he did. Why shouldn't he? It was just that he didn't know if that was such a good idea. Taking Sora with him into something that was part of his other life. It felt like leading two lives. The one he had when he was at home, doing the things his parents, no, his mother, forced him into; and the other one when he was with Sora. 

"I'd love to!" Sora beamed and he was genuinely happy. 

Riku smiled in satisfactory, for he had made Sora happy. "Good…" he murmured, feeling how sleep was taking over. 

"Riku?" 

His mind was starting to shut down. 

"Hey, Riku?" 

Drifting. Near the world of dreams… 

"Ummm?" 

Almost…beautiful sleep. Rest to recover from exhausting day… 

He fell asleep. 

Sora smiled when he heard the breathing get slower and even. Riku wasn't responding anymore, so he must have fallen asleep. 

"Nevermind, then…" he murmured, kissing the receiver affectionately, hoping that Riku would somehow feel it. He wanted to hang up after that but found himself addicted to the sound of Riku's breathing and he half cursed the phone cord for being there. He wanted to go to sleep with the phone at his ear… 

Eventually, however, his mother came strolling out of her room and patted his head. 

"Time for bed, Sora. You'll see your sweetheart tomorrow." She kissed his forehead and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. 

Sora watched her, smiling a bit as he saw her gulp down the liquid. She was sleepy. She had probably been asleep already and woke up just now. He could tell by the way her hair looked. It almost looked like his, pointing into all directions. 

"Night, mom," he murmured as she passed him. 

"Night, sweetie," she replied, yawning sleepily. Then she vanished into her room. Sora followed her example and crawled into his bed. 

He still remembered the day Riku had been here with him, in this bed. When they had been close to each other, laughed with each other… 

Closing his eyes, Sora sighed once more, then yawned, and finally drifted off to sleep where he would dream of Riku, of course. 

"Riku in boxers…" he mumbled in his sleep, turning to lie on his stomach. 

Oh, what a fine thing to dream about… 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** Well, that was fluffy It came over me suddenly when I started listening to my old Coco Lee cds Thanks to Hikari-chan I thought of listening to them again and that seemed to have inspired me. Huzzah!   
Hmm is it just me or do Riku and Sora get...dirtier? LoL. Not really... but.. the whole "what'cha wearing" stuff was kinda new. If you're really paranoid it could've sounded like the beginning of phone sex LOL.   
But they're sweet innocent teenagers and friends, OK?! No dirty things here... they were just..being honest, as always. Curious, too.   
So, tell me what you think about this chapter, ok? I'd really like to know how you liked it... I thought it was OK. nods  
reviews are good for the soul :P 


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: ** Well...here we go with the next chapter. I don't have much to say about it. There's fluff in it. Lots of fluff actually. Not much for the plot I think...but I'll work on that in the next chapter. Or so I hope. Anywayz, have fun with Chapter 18! 

========= 

Riku awoke in the morning, wondering when exactly he had fallen asleep. He remembered talking to Sora and then… He shrugged. Turning to the alarm clock on the nightstand he saw it was almost time to get up. Only almost, though. 

He snuggled back into his blanket and closed his eyes to drift. Of course, his mind came to rest on Sora. He had to smile a little when he pictured Sora lying in his bed, sleeping like a stone. He would be sleeping now because Riku knew Sora only got up five minutes before he had to get to school. 

Strangely, though, Riku suddenly began to think of Kairi. The memory of the last evening came back and he groaned. He really didn't want to remember those things. All the girls wanting to marry him… luckily none was good enough for his mother so there hadn't been any result as of yet. But did this mean there were going to be more of those parties and more girls?? 

Riku shuddered. Back to thinking of Sora, he told himself, wrapping his arms around the blanket, wishing it was Sora. He sighed as his mind came back to Kairi, though. There was something bothering him and that something was nothing other than the fact that Kairi liked someone and wouldn't tell him. 

Who did she like? It wasn't Tidus…so who was it? Or maybe it was Tidus and she just didn't want to admit it? But why shouldn't she? Kairi wasn't that type of girl, or so Riku thought. He realized that he couldn't be sure because even though they'd known each other for a while now, he still couldn't know exactly what Kairi was like. She was as much of a mystery to him as he was to others sometimes. 

A beeping sound jerked him out of his thoughts. Time to get up now. Time to get... 'Sora,' was his last coherent thought before he drifted off again. 

--- 

Sora lay in his bed, eyes half lidded, mind still somewhere in the lands of dream. He hadn't slept all that well and was constantly in this state of half sleep. Now it was time to get up and he felt like he hadn't slept at all. 

It was still raining outside. He could hear it from the open window. 

"Oh crap…" he muttered to himself as he dragged himself out of bed. He had left the window open and it had probably rained in. 

When he went to his desk his eyes widened and he groaned. He had left his homework on the desk and it had rained onto that desk, which resulted in soaked homework. 

Great way to start the day, he bitterly thought. He decided to throw the useless sheet of soaked paper away and got dressed. He was in a lousy mood today, all right. 

After choking on a piece of really hard and almost not edible bread, he decided to leave because Riku would be standing in front of his house early, as always. 

He grabbed his things and walked out of the door, locking it before he turned around. 

There was no Riku. Sora blinked. Where was he? Could it be he overslept? 

Memories came back to him, memories of their conversation last night. Riku had been on this party with all those girls who would be engaged to him. It had exhausted him a lot so maybe he didn't get up this morning? 

Sora was worried. Not only because he didn't have anyone to walk to school with but also because he began to worry about Riku's state of health. He remembered the boy having problems with his heart and breathing when things went wrong. He hoped Riku was all right. What if the boy lay in his bed and was in deep pain? What if he couldn't even breathe anymore? Sora nearly panicked and was tempted to run to his friend to see if he was all right. He would just sneak in through the ladder at the balcony. 

And he almost did that, turning on his heels to run into Riku's direction when his eyes met a figure in the distance, running towards him. First it was all blurry through the heavy rain (he didn't have an umbrella but he didn't really notice) and then it became clearer. It was Riku. 

The silver haired boy dashed towards him, almost running him over when he reached his destination. 

"Sorry!" he gasped and panted, leaning against Sora to catch his breath. 

"Are you all right?" Sora worriedly asked, patting his friend on the back. Riku panted some more and nodded, holding onto Sora's arm for balance. It was plain that he was _not_ all right. 

Riku was trembling slightly and began to cough, first only lightly but then it developed into violent coughing, shaking his body through and through. Sora frowned and pressed them close together, covering Riku with his arms. 

"I'm really fine," Riku muttered when he recovered, knowing what Sora was thinking. Even he knew that he must have seemed extremely sick right now but he was all right. Last thing he wanted was to stay at home. Going to school was his only escape, the only way to leave his cage. 

Sora kissed him on the lips but Riku pushed him away quickly, for he had to cough again. 

"Sorry…" he mumbled, hanging his head. Sora shook his head and gently took his hand. 

"Come on, let's go." 

--- 

School was worse than Sora thought it would be. Not only had the rain soaked his homework, he also forgot some of his books and he had to go to the blackboard to solve a mathematical problem which he didn't understand at all. 

And when he thought it couldn't get any worse it turned out they were having Art instead of History today. Art with Ms Gainsborough also known as 'Aeris, the bitch who caught us'. 

Riku wasn't feeling well, either. He coughed and sneezed all the time, which then again caused all the girls to come and fuss over him. Sora was always pushed into a small corner where he had to watch poor Riku being massacred by crazy fans. 

Eventually the day ended. Sora hadn't paid much attention to Kairi, he didn't know why. Maybe it was because he was too caught up in the things going wrong to notice anything else. 

However, when they walked out of the building, Riku coughing beside Sora, Kairi was there to pat his back. 

"You ok?" she asked, giving Riku a worried look. 

Sora tensed, seeing how easily Riku let Kairi touch him. He usually avoided everyone except Sora. But then Kairi was different. Kairi was his friend, wasn't she? 

"I'm fine," Riku replied, waving a hand in dismissal. Kairi nodded, accepting this without further questions. However, she leaned up to his ear and seemed to whisper something. Sora's eyes widened; he had never seen anyone doing that with Riku. Riku would never allow. 

He watched how Kairi said something and Riku nodded, giving her a look when she withdrew. 

"Right," he mumbled, suddenly glancing at Sora. 

He then smiled and extended his hand, beckoning Sora to take it. Kairi smiled at the two and waved when she left. 

"See ya tomorrow, boys!" 

Sora frowned. "What did she say?" he suspiciously inquired, feeling a slight tinge of jealousy in him. 

Riku shook his head. "Oh nothing. Really. It's not important." 

Sora frowned more and opened his mouth to reply. However, he was cut off by Riku asking him something. 

"Say…do you have any idea who she might like?" 

He blinked. Kairi liked someone? Well, she obviously did. And it was so plain to see that this someone was _Riku_! 

"What do you mean?" he hesitantly asked as they began to walk down the street. Sora became distracted with the raindrops hitting the ground, finding it strangely fascinating how it created small puddles. It didn't bother him at all that they didn't have an umbrella this time. He was just a bit worried about Riku, who was sneezing and coughing a lot lately. 

"What do I mean?" Riku slowly repeated, trailing off into silence. Sora snapped his head to his friend and frowned. He cocked his head and bit his lip. Then he reached out and grabbed Riku's arm. He didn't really know why he had done it but Riku seemed not to mind. He was a bit surprised, yes, but he didn't do anything to push him away. 

"Kairi likes someone…and I can't figure out who it is…" Riku mumbled. 'Of course there's this one possibility…' he kept thinking. Always this one possibility. But he didn't want to voice his thoughts yet. Not until Sora had said something about it. 

"And you mean it's not Mr Perfect?" Sora sarcastically answered as they continued to walk. He let go off Riku and turned away, looking at the rain again. Why had he just said that? And why had he just sounded so hostile? 

Riku sighed. "Sora…" It seemed Riku knew what Sora felt even though Sora himself didn't. 

"No, really, whom does she like then? If it's not you? You're the only one. I mean you're close and all, you never see her with anyone else…she's always with us." 

Yes, that was it. Riku felt a pang in his chest. 'Us,' he thought to himself. He thought back on the evening. Kairi had clearly told him that she did not like him in that way but that it was someone else. 

"Yeah…always with us…" he mused as his hand searched for Sora's. If Kairi really liked Sora – he barely wanted to think of this – then what would happen between them? Riku didn't want to lose Sora. He was supposed to be _his_ friend. What if Kairi got even closer to him than Riku was? He didn't want that at all. 

Sora seemed oblivious, though. He was still of the opinion that Kairi liked Riku and just tried to hide it. And because of all that secrecy going around lately he didn't know what to think anyway. Why were Kairi and Riku exchanging those looks all of the time? Why did she lean up to whisper into his ear today? Why was he so nice to her? There was something going on and Sora swore that it was all an conspiracy against him! 

…so maybe he over dramatized things. But it really bothered him. And there was also the thing about the fiancées. Riku hadn't lost a word about it. 

They were at the convenience store. Riku stopped suddenly, squeezing Sora's hand lightly. 

"I…if you don't…um…because…" 

Sora raised his eyebrows and turned to face Riku. 

"What?" 

He saw how Riku kind of blushed and it looked _so cute_ that he had to smile, forgetting all his worries at once. Riku had this half scowl, half frown on his face and the slightly flushed cheeks made him look so adorable. 

"Piano…" he heard the boy mumble before Riku looked up and shrugged his shoulders. 

Sora blinked at first. Then it hit him. Of course! Riku had asked him to accompany him! 

He blinked again. "What? Right now?" 

Riku nodded. "We have twenty minutes to get there…it's not far." He gestured towards the bus station on the other side of the road. Then he looked a bit worried. 

"Only if you don't mind, of course…" 

Sora smiled brightly. "I don't think I have anything better to do," he replied, tugging on Riku's hand. They went along and entered the bus when it came. 

Sora watched the houses and cars pass by as the bus went. After a few stops they reached their destination; Sora tried to memorize the way in case he would need to come here some time again. 

When they approached the building, Sora was again surprised at the elegance of it all. It surprised him how many beautiful places there were in town while he knew nothing of it. 

Riku rang the doorbell and the door opened, revealing a very…intimidating woman. 

"Oooh Riku!" 

She was fat. 

Yes, it wasn't polite to say that but technically, Sora hadn't _said_ it, just thought it. She was fat and her breasts looked like giant balloons and Sora couldn't help but feel pity when Riku was crushed against her, pressed against her huge bosom. Her hair was curly and red, dyed of course. She had a big mouth smeared with red lipstick. 

Sora didn't want to say, or think, that she was ugly but she was really kind of scary when he looked at her. 

"Riku! How nice to see you! How have you been, sweetie?" She had the habit to roll the R with her tongue and her voice was somewhat shrill so Riku's name sounded like a battle cry whenever she said it. 

Riku, however, didn't seem affected by her at all and merely smiled his ever charming smile as he brushed himself off. 

"I've been fine, Mrs Oren, thank you." 

Sora was tempted to roll his eyes. So here was Mr Perfect again. He hadn't seen that side of Riku for a while, now that he thought about it. 

The ugly woman, no wait, her name was Mrs Oren, ushered the boys into the living room where a grand piano stood. It was as beautiful as Riku's. 

Sora had trotted behind them, feeling a little out of place as Riku seemed to be completely absorbed into his role as the perfect boy. Mrs Oren was gesturing around with her hands, explaining something to him in that eccentric way of hers. 

Eventually, they sat down at the piano and Sora was left there standing. Mrs Oren noticed him, seemingly for the first time and clapped her hands. 

"Oh, dearest! Who is this darling little boy?" she inquired, turning her face full of make up to Riku. 

The silver haired boy, perfect as he was, smiled smoothly at her and nodded his head towards Sora. 

"This is a friend of mine. His name is Sora." 

Mrs Oren's eyes widened and she smiled – which made her look extremely scary, or so Sora thought. 

"Oooh! A friend! Sora, yes? Doesn't that name have something to do with the sky? Oh yes, you are pure like the sky, I can feel the good vibes coming from you!" She suddenly developed into doing some kind of hand motions, almost as if she were trying to do some esoteric thing. He was scared. 

Riku chuckled and shrugged, placing his music book out to ready himself to play. 

Mrs Oren sighed and put her hands to her breasts. "Oh wonderful, this boy!" 

Riku smiled, secretly stealing a glance at his friend. Yep, he was wonderful. Wonderfully frightened, by the way. Riku gave him a wink, trying to comfort him. 'She's not so bad,' he wanted to say. Sora seemed to understand and tried to keep the horrified face away. He had to look 'wonderful'. 

So he smiled. 

Eventually, Riku began to play and Mrs Oren listened carefully, seeming absolutely fascinated by the way her pupil's fingers danced over the keys. He was a natural talent, a genius at music. She was not worthy to be his teacher. 

Sora watched and listened with interest. He had never heard Riku play before. He was surprised how fascinating it was to see Riku concentrating, creating this beautiful music. However, Sora could feel that he was not as concentrated as he should be. Every now and then Riku would look at him out of the corner of his eyes and he would smile a bit. Then he would continue to play with more force and more passion. Then, however, he would get distracted again and look at Sora. 

Mrs Oren was absolutely charmed by her pupil and clapped her hands over and over again. She adored the boy and she said it every time. 

Then, her phone rang. She excused herself and left the living room to answer the phone privately. Riku was supposed to play the next piece on his own because it was new so he should pracitce a bit. 

After a few minutes of playing, Riku suddenly stopped. There was this smile again and he turned to Sora, who was sitting on the couch now. He lifted his hand and motioned him to come over. Sora raised his eyebrows, not sure what Riku wanted from him, but shrugged and got up to walk to his friend. 

"Yup?" 

He blinked as Riku wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in his stomach. 

"…need a break…" the silver haired boy mumbled as he nuzzled Sora's abdomen. Sora inhaled sharply at the feeling; it tickled slightly. His hands found their way into Riku's hair. Oh how he loved the feel of that silky hair. And Riku was moving his mouth and he could feel it, hear the rustling of clothes when he did. 

"Riku…" Sora murmured, too caught up in the sensations to think straight. But Mrs Oren would come back any second. 

Sora gasped when he felt Riku's hands, which had been wrapped around his waist, sliding under his shirt; fingers teasing up and down his spine. 

"Riku!" he whispered, pushing the boy away a bit. 

Sora blushed furiously and shook his head. Riku bit his lip and looked down. 

"Umm…Sorry…I didn't know what I was doing…" he mumbled, shaking his head to clear his mind. 

Sora shrugged. "You should practice," he murmured, gesturing to the sheets of music. Riku nodded and turned back to his task while Sora returned to his seat. 

Neither noticed that Mrs Oren had already finished talking on the phone and had seen the whole scene when she had been standing in the doorway. 

When she came back, she smiled knowingly but neither of the boys realized that. 

She just smiled and patted Riku's head, then went to Sora and ruffled his hair, too. 

"Now you two, I'll let you go earlier today," she announced as she looked at the clock. 

Riku blinked. "What? Why?" he asked in confusion. Not that he wasn't glad. He was ecstatic to know he could spend more time with Sora but why would she stop earlier? His lessons were always two hours long. And right now only forty minutes had passed. 

His teacher, however, shook her head. "Oh, I've got business," she lied. It was obvious when she lied. She just wasn't the greatest liar but she was always a kind-hearted woman. Riku thought that whatever reason she had, it would only be good for him. 

"All right," he reluctantly agreed, packing up his things to leave. Sora was still a bit puzzled about it all but followed Riku. 

Mrs Oren waved at them when they left. 

"Oh and," she turned to rummage through a dresser on the right of the anteroom, "don't you want an umbrella?" she asked, waving one of those horribly pink plastic things at the boys. 

Riku and Sora exchanged a look. 

Then they turned. 

And ran for their lives. 

Mrs Oren laughed, shaking her head. "Boys will be boys," she hummed, closing the door to her apartment. The fact that Riku had a friend now made her more than happy. She had always been of the opinion that a friend would do the poor boy some good. 

--- 

"So…" Sora and Riku were standing at the bus station. They didn't really know where to go so Sora thought it was best to return home. Or wherever. 

Riku had a better idea. 

"Let's go to the park there," he suggested and pointed into the direction of a few trees. 

Sora shrugged. He didn't know the area here but he was sure that as long as he was with Riku, things wouldn't be so bad. 

"Okay," he agreed and they made their way to the park. There were lots of empty benches but Riku didn't seem to want to sit on them. Sure they were wet but so were they… Riku, however, seemed to be looking for a particular bench. They went through the park until Riku turned to the side and walked over to the trees. There was a small hill and behind that hill, there was a perfect secluded bench surrounded by great trees giving shelter. 

It was beautiful. 

They sat down on the bench there. First Sora was sitting on the far end of it while Riku was on the other side. Then, however, they moved closer, closer and closer until Riku put his arm around Sora. 

Silence. Only the rain was audible. The trees were giving such a perfect shelter, it seemed as though they were in some kind of cave. Sora couldn't help thinking of it as romantic, even though he was _not_ being in a romantic situation with Riku. That would be really wrong. They were just…together. In a perfect place… 

"You never told me about the rest of the evening," Sora suddenly said, turning his head to look at Riku. 

The silver haired boy sighed and shook his head in dismissal. 

"It was horrible. Just horrible. That's why I overslept today. Why I feel so awful. You know that I get kinda sick when something worries me." 

Sora only nodded before he let his head fall back on Riku's shoulder. He liked being close to him like that. 

"So I guess you didn't find any girl you liked?" 

Sora wouldn't admit that he would die if Riku found a girl he liked. Luckily, however, Riku snorted. 

"Girl I liked? I _hated_ them. All of them!" He sighed in exasperation. Even though he lied about that. He didn't hate Kairi. But he couldn't tell Sora about Kairi. He didn't know why but he just couldn't. And also, Kairi had told him, when they went out of school, to keep it from Sora for a while. He didn't know why she wanted that but he supposed she had her reasons. 

Sora sighed, too and moved a bit away from Riku as he stretched. He yawned, rubbing his eyes. The sound of rain was making him sleepy, and also this place was so relaxing and soothing, he just wanted to sleep. 

Riku smiled and stretched, too. Just relax and be with each other, he thought. That was it. That was the way it should always be. 

--- 

Time passed. 

They sat under the shelter of the trees, rain drizzling down from the edges of the leaves. Sora felt the chilly wind stroke over his face but couldn't find any discomfort in the feeling. It was a beautiful day, dark and rainy but beautiful nonetheless. 

Riku sat beside him on the small bench. He'd let his head fall backwards, arms spread on the armrest and his legs stretched out. It seemed he was relaxing as his eyes gazed at the green leaves dancing with the wind. He blinked occasionally to prevent raindrops getting into his eyes and Sora found himself staring in awe. 

The long eyelashes descended with such grace. The silver hair was slightly damp through the rain and it looked so beautiful, so tempting to run one's fingers through it as the drops rolled off the smooth hair. 

Suddenly, as if to shake Sora out of his daze, a sigh floated in the air. Riku turned his head into Sora's direction with a fluid motion. The aqua eyes were mesmerizing in their own mystifying way. It was as though they were adopting the colour of their surroundings and mixing them into the beautiful sea of green and blue. 

Sora could not look away even if he wanted to. He just wouldn't move or blink. However, as nature demands it, he had to blink for a split of a second. And in that split of a second a smile crept up the silver haired boy's lips. Slowly and lazily it crawled onto those well-shaped lips, forming the most wonderful smile Sora had ever seen. 

And when he thought it couldn't get any better, this splendid sight, the creamy lips parted and began to move. 

"I never thought this was possible," he said, shifting in his position to be closer to Sora. For once, he could be out with a friend, not being controlled by his parents, being caged, being forced into things he didn't want. Now he was free. 

He remained stretched out even as he moved close to Sora. Sora watched him, unable to take his eyes off the boy. He began to smile. 

"There's always a first time for everything," he replied, feeling a strange yet pleasant feeling in his stomach. Those eyes, those hauntingly gorgeous eyes caused him to fidget. Yet he couldn't look away. 

Riku chuckled and turned his head back to stare upwards at the leaves. 

"I guess so…" he trailed off into silence. 

Only the rain was audible as they sat under the tree. Only the sizzling of drops lightly hitting the ground or splashing against leaves echoed through the comforting silence. There was no need for talk. 

Riku's eyes became half-lidded and he tilted his head. Sora could see it all from the corner of his eye as he tilted his head upwards, just like Riku. They stared at the mightiness above them. Hundreds of green or slightly yellow leaves hung on the strong branches. The rain splattered against them but they never really reached the boys. The tree was giving perfect shelter. 

"Have you ever experienced…" Riku suddenly began, breaking the silence again. 

Sora was too caught up in staring at the fascinating wonder of raindrops meeting leaves that he didn't turn to look at Riku. The silver haired boy wasn't looking at him either, just staring upwards. 

"…when you look at something long enough…no matter what it is… it turns into something abstract…" the silver haired boy went on, now narrowing his eyes a bit. Sora imitated this and tilted his head slightly. He looked at the many leaves and the grey sky in between. And when he looked long enough, until he wasn't really looking anymore… he found that Riku was right. 

Somehow it all turned into a pool of colours. No shapes, no definite outlines…just colours. 

"It feels good, too," Sora murmured, somehow drawing a connection between this phenomenon and their relationship. There wasn't any shape or outline…no definition. There were just colours, beautiful, nice colours swimming in a pool that mixed them all together. Their emotions were mixed together without any shape or rules. 

"If I had to marry…I'd want to marry you," Riku then said, finally tearing his gaze away from the sky to look at _his_ sky. That was his decision. The girls were all horrible, Kairi liked someone else – not that he wanted to marry Kairi – so the only person he wanted was Sora. Sora and no one but him. 

Sora hadn't turned his head yet so the silver haired boy could take in his profile. Adorable. There was something about Sora he just couldn't describe. The best word he knew was adorable but even that did no justice. He adored Sora like nothing else, that he knew. Then he turned away from the sight because he was sure he wouldn't be able to bear it any longer. 

There was really no doubt, he thought. He had been thinking about it for a while now and there was his final conclusion. If he had to spend his life with someone, it would have to be someone with whom he could feel at ease. Someone with whom he could joke and fool around. Someone with whom he could spend time in silence. Someone he cared about. 

Sora couldn't say he hadn't expected to hear this. Well, he wasn't really prepared for it, didn't know what to do or say about it, but somewhere in the back of his mind he had known that this would come. The thoughts of Kairi liking Riku had vanished into a small corner of his mind, if not perished completely. Now everything that mattered was Riku and no one but him. 

And everything seemed logical, too. He figured that he would want to marry Riku, too, if he had to marry someone. Not that he wanted to get married to anyone… it was stupid and too early anyway. But if he had to…it had to be someone like Riku. It had to be Riku. 

Realizing their thoughts, they both blushed and shook their heads simultaneously. Both smiled and both turned to look at each other and their eyes met. 

A long silence regarded them then, kind of leaving them hanging in nothingness. It wasn't until Riku leaned forward, until Sora closed his eyes, and until they both moved to press their lips together, that they both knew that something was going on between them. 

Something that was not friendship in the sense of friendship. Something that was not what they thought it would be. Something that was…much more than that. Much more than anything they knew. 

And that something they shared was… 

Riku wrapped his arms around Sora and held him tightly, closing his eyes slowly. Sora did the same and rubbed his friend's back with his hands. There were whispered confessions then. Half-murmured, then inaudible whispering that wasn't intelligible, probably because the thoughts in their heads weren't intelligible either. Sweet nothings, gentle touches, rain drizzling from above, it all mixed into one state of emotional vulnerability and need. Never having experienced this but both knowing that it was right this way, the boys drowned in the closeness of each other. It felt as though they melted into each other. At one point Sora made a sound that could have passed as a moan if one wanted to hear it that way and Riku pressed his lips to his cheek in a soft gesture. Everything between them was so tentative and timid, almost as though one hasty movement could destroy everything between them. They were careful but not afraid. 

Because when Sora opened his eyes and saw Riku opening his eyes, too, he knew that nothing could ever destroy what had formed between them. He smiled again, then it turned into a grin. It was that adorable encouraging grin he always had and Riku found himself smirking in response. 

And in a matter of seconds they were half wrestling, half tickling each other, laughing all the while. Sora noted how carefree Riku's laughter was and it made him more than happy. He had been so fragile before, stressed because of his parents, afraid because of their strange feelings. But everything was back to normal as they played around. 

--- 

"Even though my mother thinks I'm having piano lesson, I should still get home on time," Riku murmured as Sora had his arms around him, unwilling to let go off him. They were already in front of the gates and Riku was getting slightly nervous even though he didn't want to let go off Sora either. 

"Just another minute," Sora pleaded, hugging Riku tightly. 

They kissed one last time, just a short brushing of lips, to say goodbye. There were still those doubts about whether they were supposed to do that. But then they both felt that it was a feeling that was too amazing, something that was simply too wonderful _not_ to do. 

"I'll call you, I promise," Riku murmured when he left. Sora smiled brightly and nodded. 

"I'm living for those calls," he answered, grinning and waving at Riku as he walked backwards, leaving slowly but surely. 

"Don't trip," Riku mocked, smirking slightly as a panicked look crossed Sora's features. The boy spun around and looked if there was anything that might have made him trip and glared when there was nothing. 

"Take care, marshmallow," Riku teased and Sora stuck out his tongue. 

Riku smirked. He loved that boy and nothing would ever change that. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: ** ::sigh:: I hope this chapter was all right! I had lots of fragments written and had to connect them somehow to make it a chapter. I don't know if you noticed, I hope not   
Well anyway...I hope you liked this chapter! I liked the bit with Sora and Riku sitting under the trees on the bench... cause I know place like this and it's the most beautiful thing you can imagine. I love that place hehe...  
Ok, I'm gonna stop rambling. Review please! 


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: **I'm sorry it took so long! I actually had this written days ago. But my beta is taking so long before returning this chapter to me so... I ended up letting someone else beta so I could post it. ::sighs::

So after all this time I actually had it in me to write something. Forgive me, for I have abandoned this story for so long. Stupid writer's block killing my inspiration. However, I managed to overcome this, at least for a few hours to get some 5000 words together! Whoot! A long chapter actually... A lot of Sora's thoughts and stuff... you'll see.

Warning: Overuse of italics, lots of side comments and notes in brackets (like this) and... an attempt to bring even more plot into this plotless story! Yay! Guess what I'm doing? You'll see. I'm just saying that Sora gets some attention. bleh. Gotta stop spoiling the chapter.  
Somehow I can't like this chapter. The more time passes, the more I hate it. So, before my hatred for this chapter turns even worse, I'll let you read. 

========= 

Days passed by as Riku and Sora both drowned in the monotony of everyday life. School was always the same, sometimes busy, sometimes more relaxed but most of the times simply boring and annoying. Especially for Sora. Riku didn't seem to have problems at all, always dealing with studying _and_ his duty as head student with such ease it made Sora jealous. But Sora was different. He had to study hard for everything, always wishing for some luck to pass the exams, always staying up late to do his homework. It wasn't just school that drove him mad but also his responsibility at home since his mother was rarely there. 

Not that he blamed her, no, she was working so they had a roof over their heads. But he was just getting tired of playing housewife _and_ pupil. Some time or another he would certainly stop it all and just relax. And that some time was probably the winter holidays, which were becoming a very welcomed thought now. 

Sora stared longingly out of the window while Ms Gainsborough, aka 'Aeris, the bitch who caught us' showed a few slides to the class. 

He wondered when it would start to snow and if it would be snowing on Christmas Eve. Well, since it was barely the middle of October now it would probably take a little longer before the first snowdrop hit the ground but the weather was definitely changing towards winter. Somehow he loved the idea of white fluffy snow, happy children playing in it and building a snow man, and the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies. Just thinking of it made him smile and remember his childhood when things had been so easy. Yeah, _that_ time was certainly over now. 

Sighing, he began to make sketches on a sheet of his notebook, which he had taken out at the beginning of the period. Ms Gainsborough was talking about some kind of painting technique used by some Italian painter of the Renaissance but he hardly listened to it even though they were supposed to take notes. Not that anyone in class did it, anyway. Even Aeris didn't seem to mind that most teens were just looking at the slideshow instead of writing down what she explained. It was probably due to the overworked students. A lot of things had been going on lately so many people just wanted a break. The thought of winter holidays and a laid back Christmas Eve was in many pupils' head. Even the teachers seemed to understand that. 

So, instead of paying attention, Sora decided to make time pass by busying himself with his drawings. They _were_ having Art, after all. 

Thinking about this and that, Sora began to sketch Riku and himself. They were sitting underneath those trees, on that bench Sora loved to remember. 

They had been there once or twice after the first time but not more. He remembered the first time with great happiness, though. He even liked to remember the piano lesson and Mrs Oren, even though she was kind of scary. Scary but nice. The best thing, though, had been to see Riku switch personality when he was around that woman. He would always be so perfect and sovereign, yet he could be so absolutely cute and shy when he was with Sora. It sort of made him happy that Riku was showing him this side… 

Riku. Somehow his thoughts always centered on him. The silver haired boy's life didn't seem to be all that nice, either. Sure, he handled everything at school easily but there was something in his life that caused him to worry, too. Namely, his mother. Sora knew, since Riku had told him, that his mother was planning another one of those dinner parties to look for a fiancée and it was going to be sometime around next week. It sort of made him cringe when he thought about it. Riku having to marry a complete stranger his mother had chosen for him. He pitied his friend and somewhere in the corner of his mind he also felt jealous – but he would never really realize it. 

Moving his pencil lightly as to not make a noise, Sora began to shade the picture. He started with himself and Riku so it first looked like they were sitting in nothingness since the tree was but mere lines. Then, however, the scenery got its colour – well, not colour, everything was grey for he had only used a pencil – and the different pressure on the strokes Sora had used created wonderful contrast, making the picture look alive and real. 

That day had probably been the happiest day of his life. Or at least one of them. Even though it had been days ago, the memory was still vivid as ever. And he knew one thing now. 

He missed Riku. 

He missed him because he wasn't there, hadn't been there for the whole day and it was already the third period. He had only seen him in the morning when they went to school together but since then he had been gone. It was one of those days. Those days when Riku had to attend a special council meeting as head student and class president (yes, he was both). 

Sora kind of wondered how many things, and most importantly _what kind of things_ there were to be discussed. It wasn't like anything majorly exciting happened in this school. And there were more than enough rules so they couldn't be thinking up new ones at those meetings. So what in the world were they discussing? 

Sighing (yes, Sora seemed to do that a lot, lately) he turned his attention back to his picture. 

He blinked, then smiled, stifling a chuckle as he looked it over, realizing what he had done. 

Having shaded the figures in the picture, he had also added a darker tone on Riku's cheeks. A cute blush was spread across the face, perhaps making the drawing seem unrealistic to those who didn't know the Riku Sora knew (which was about all of the town's population and then some). 

Somehow it felt like Sora was the only one who knew Riku instead of the image he had. It was like he knew a person no one else could see and that kind of made him happy. Not just because he could claim to know someone others didn't – because, really, he couldn't, who would believe him? – but because Riku seemed to _trust_ him so much to let him know the real person behind the façade. 

Oh, but he was trailing off now. Well, it wasn't like he had been thinking about anything in particular in the first place…. 

It was so boring! No Riku to talk to, not even Kairi was there to chat with because she'd taken Music & Drama instead of Art when they were supposed to choose. 

Sora pouted. If he'd known that he'd get Ms Gainsborough, he would have chosen Music & Drama, too. He had developed a disliking for her ever since she had sent Riku and him to the headmaster for 'inappropriate behaviour at school'. Come to think of it, they hadn't been there for a while now. 

Leon, as they all called him, was rarely seen, always locking himself in his office. But rumours said that some seniors had seen him going to a popular night club more than just a few times so that blew the image of cold hearted and stoic workaholic. 

Sora rubbed his chin with his pencil as his thoughts of Leon mixed with his current problem. Riku wasn't here. 

But as the headmaster of this school, Leon was most probably, no, _definitely_, at that council meeting. Headmaster and head student, a few teachers and the class presidents of various classes were there as far as Sora knew. It still made him wonder what all those people were discussing for hours. It would always take hours, sometimes three, sometimes four. 

And Sora would always have to pay extra attention during class and take notes of everything being said because Riku would come and ask to copy them after school. Not that he actually needed it. Riku seemed perfectly fine without all the lessons he missed. It was the same with playing the piano. Riku knew and could do everything without even trying. 

He was also ridiculously good at any kind of sport. Unbelievable energy and grace when it came to competition. Heck, he had even won about ten cups in the past two years. 

Somehow Sora understood how he could have a fanclub with over 2000 people. He was a celebrity in town, which meant quite a lot because this town was definitely big enough to almost be a city. 

Sora heaved a long sigh – yes, he knew that he had done that about three times in the past five minutes – and turned his head back to the window, watching the fallen leaves dance in the wind. There was still a lot of leafage everywhere despite the diligent scavengers. You could see them work from where Sora was sitting and he found it really interesting all of the sudden to watch them. More interesting than class anyway. He barely registered Ms Gainsborough talking about the biography of this Italian painter with a strange name who had used strange things to paint strange pictures. Whatever. Scavengers were so much more fascinating than this. 

So before he actually knew what he was doing, he began to sketch those people at work along with the surrounding leaves. It developed into another one of those beautiful grey pencil drawings. 

It wasn't until he heard someone clear their throat right in front of him that he noticed his Art teacher standing in front of his desk with a sceptic look on her face. 

Sora blinked and raised his eyes, still giving the finishing touches to his work. 

"What exactly is this you're doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. She had her hands on her hips, making her look very strict and annoying – very unlike her actual nature. Aeris was a gentle person yet she was easy-going and adventurous. Well, except when you were one of her students and had just spent your time drawing doodles (hey, it wasn't just doodles) instead of listening to her. 

Sora opened his mouth to utter one of those lame 'I'm sorry's which would only work if the teacher was in the right mood. However, he was cut off by his teacher right away. 

"Did you draw those two pictures during class?" 

Ouch. Didn't seem like the time for lame apologies. She was in her 'pay attention because it is important' mood. So, Sora shrugged, dropping his pencil as he began to shrink back into his seat. 

"Well, did you?" she pressed on, staring at him with imploring eyes. 

"Y-yes," he mumbled, knowing that there was no way out of this. Oh, what would he give to have Riku here to help him. The boy's charm would always make her weak and cause her to let him off easily. He hoped he would not have to stand in the halls again with those buckets full of water. His arms got sore just from thinking about it. 

Sora suddenly jerked in surprise when he heard that clapping sound and his eyes widened in confusion as he saw his teacher clapping her hands with a huge smile on her lips. 

"That's amazing! Simply amazing, Sora!" 

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on him. Some of the curious got up from their seats to look at the source of Ms Gainsborough's excitement. 

"Why, Sora, I didn't know you had it in you!" one of the guys standing up exclaimed. To be honest, Sora didn't even know his name. He didn't even know the names of most people here since he rarely talked to anyone besides Riku, Kairi and maybe Selphie and Tidus. But that was about it. Sure, he wasn't hated or an outcast, he was actually known throughout the school as the nice guy, the one who'd always help you out. 

But they hardly saw him as a friend and neither did he see them as anything because for all he cared, he _had_ a friend. And that was Riku. 

"Have you ever considered studying art?" Ms Gainsborough suddenly asked, causing some students to nod in agreement. 

Sora was sure he was blushing now. He wasn't used to so much attention and he idly wondered if that was the way Riku was always treated. Always being the center of attention, always being watched and observed. Even the girls were looking at Sora in that strange way now; it kind of scared him. 

Luckily the bell rang, saving Sora's life before anyone could actually say anything. He _really_ couldn't take that much attention. 

As always, the pupils quickly packed their things and moved on to the next period, all of the previous excitement and wonder gone. It was every day life again and it made Sora see how fast the spotlight could leave you, just as though nothing ever happened. 

Shrugging, he decided that it was for the better and packed up his things, only leaving the two drawings outside to carry them in his hand. It was only when Sora was about to leave that Aeris stopped him. 

"You know, I have connections. Friends, who have friends. You could become a great artist if you got the chance…" 

She gave him one of those 'I-know-what-I'm-talking-about-so-listen-to-me' looks. Riku seemed to do that sometimes, too. 

"I'd like to take an example of your work and show it to a very important person in the conservatory of Art. If you're good enough, they'll take you in for sure and then you can—" 

"Why?" Sora asked, only realizing that it was rude to cut off people, (especially your elders and teachers) when it was too late. 

Aeris blinked, a bit puzzled due to the sudden interruption. Thinking it over, she nodded to herself and gave Sora a reassuring smile. 

"Because great talent should never go to waste!" 

Sora wrinkled his nose and thought about it. Art student? Great artist? He had never considered that actually… 

"I'll take one of your drawings, if you don't mind." She reached for the one Sora had drawn before, the one of Riku and him under the trees. 

The woman lifted it and looked it over once, seemingly studying it for a while. 

"I see, it's Riku and you, isn't it? You've captured the personalities skilfully. And the atmosphere, it almost seems romantic," she smiled, "But not quite. It sure is peaceful, though. And even though you've only used a pencil, the different shades of grey give an amazing vibration and life to this picture. Artistic…" 

Sora wondered why Ms Gainsborough thought that he had 'captured the personalities skilfully'. It wasn't like he could do that with a simply picture now, could he? 

Then he realized what else she had said. Romantic atmosphere. 

_Romantic_. 

Well, not that he had never wondered…because when he and Riku… 

Shaking his head, he pulled the sheet back, refusing to give it to her. 

"I'm sorry but I want to keep this…it's kinda personal." He wasn't even sure why he had said that. It just felt like exposing and presenting what he and Riku shared to strangers when actually, it was none of their business. 

Aeris nodded in what seemed to be understanding and put a hand to her chest, smiling once again. 

"Could I have the other one, then? This is a great chance for you, you know…" 

Sora shrugged. Actually, he didn't care much about all that at the moment and only wanted to leave. He had a free period now because his teacher was at the council meeting. He wanted to spend that hour with Riku but that was not possible (damn his responsibility as head student). Still, he could _really_ think of better things to do than to stand here and discuss his career as an artist with the one teacher he didn't really like. 

Aeris took the picture of the scavengers and put it into her bag. 

"Very well." She gave Sora one last smile, deciding that it was time to let him go. She had kept him long enough. 

Sora was out of the door in no time but only after he heard Aeris calling. "You've got a gift from heaven, Sora! Use it!" 

Gift from heaven? He wasn't so sure about that. He had never really thought about it. He had just drawn with great dedication and love. He did it because he couldn't do much at home besides work. And he liked to capture moments, no matter how trivial they were, and what better way was there than to draw them? 

--- 

The free period was great. They were allowed to stay in the recreation facility of the school. Table tennis and other fun things kept most of the students in Sora's class busy. 

Kairi was there, too, for they would have been together now. But she was busy reading and studying the new drama she was doing in class. Sora figured she wanted to be alone and honestly, he didn't want to talk to her right now. Somehow her behaviour had changed slightly ever since… well, he couldn't remember what could have happened to change her. But she suddenly seemed to avoid him, then she would especially seek him out and sometimes she would just stare at him in that strange way. Sora was a bit worried about her well-being as she was behaving different but she always brushed it off as nothing and only smiled, ushering him towards Riku whenever he was around. 

It always seemed as though she was pushing him away, away to Riku. And then, when she wanted to talk to someone, she would do it with Riku instead of Sora. It hurt a bit but not too much, just made him wonder what was actually going on. 

Anyhow, Sora realized that he was in need of some peace and quiet. The pupils playing table tennis were creating more ruckus than they should be, and Sora's nerves were on the edge. They had been strained for days now and without Riku there to sooth and comfort him, he was nearing a breakdown. 

Getting up from where he was sitting, he made his way towards the toilets, hoping that no one was there. Kairi looked up for a second to check where he was going but quickly looked away when he turned his eyes into her direction. 

Weird. 

But not weird enough to make him worry all that much. He pushed through the door and thanked whatever Deity there was that there were no other people. Finally some peace and quiet, a very pleasant change from the busy and noisy school. 

Winter holidays, he thought again. Some kind of pause would do him and his mother good. Ryoko had been keeping up this day and night work for weeks. She hardly slept, was barely at home and who knew if she was eating enough. Sora was truly worried about his mother, mostly because she seemed so young and helpless sometimes. But then he remembered that it was her who had brought him up, her who had taught him everything and anything he had to know. She couldn't be as young and helpless as he thought. 

Shaking his head to stop his thoughts, he turned on the faucet, feeling the cold water run down his hands. Ah, that felt good. 

He made a cup with his hands and gathered some water before splashing it into his face. 

Now _that_ definitely felt good. He did it again, repeating the motion a few times and taking deep breaths after each splash, feeling how the water cleansed his body and mind. There was something about cold water that always made you fresh and clear. Sora loved water. 

He took a short moment to look at his reflection in the mirror. There were three washbasins and a huge mirror stretched across the wall, highly luxurious for a school. The tiles were made of marble, or so it seemed, and once again Sora was surprised at how beautiful everything was. Even in this school, not only in Riku's house, or Mrs Oren's house, even in _school_ things were so pretty. Or was it just that his own home was a mess? 

No, he couldn't think like that. His home was fine as it was. Great. Perfect. Yeah, right. 

Just when he was about to repeat his actions once again, wanting to feel another rush of fresh water trickle down his face, the door opened, revealing a slightly grumbling boy who was rubbing his temples in annoyance. 

He obviously didn't see Sora as his eyes kept focusing on the ground. When he came to stand at one of the washbasins, he raised his head to look into the mirror. 

Raising his eyebrows, he turned his head to the side to face Sora, whom he had seen beside his reflection in the mirror, and Sora did the same. 

They stared at each other for a moment before realizing who they were staring at. 

"Sora!" 

"Riku!" 

They exclaimed at the same time, a smile breaking over their faces. 

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other simultaneously, both blinking, then laughing. 

Sora was the first one to recover and shook his head slightly to clear his head. "Well, we're having a free period so I decided to get some rest in here. You know, the teacher's at…" He paused and frowned, tilting his head to the side. "Hey, why aren't you at the meeting?" 

Riku only waved him off though and turned on the water. It fascinated Sora instantly how the fingers curled around the temperature regulator. It looked so graceful. He blinked, watching in curiosity as Riku did the exact same thing he had done just seconds ago. He gathered the cold water in his hands and splashed it against his face, causing some of his bangs to get soaked with it. Sora couldn't help but notice the gorgeousness before him. There were tiny drops of water clinging to his beautiful, long eyelashes and there was this glimmering sheen on his lips. And the round drops forming at the end of his silver strands, dropping slightly to the ground. 

Sora wanted to capture that moment, capture it with a picture. And it struck him. 

"Wait! Don't move!" 

He quickly dug into his schoolbag to get out a pencil and his notebook – he knew why he had taken his things with him instead of leaving it in the recreation room. 

Riku blinked, causing the water drops on his eyelashes to fall. 

It made Sora smile and then he began to sketch Riku with quick strokes of his pencil. Only a few minutes later, he was finished with the main part and only added a few details. 

Riku, meanwhile, was allowed to move again and peered in curiosity at the quickly developing picture. He was stunned. 

"That's…wow." Was all he could say and Sora smiled, adding more detail from his memory, since he knew most of Riku's features by heart now. It was like, all he ever thought of was Riku, and he could always picture him in his mind. So it was easy to put the things he saw and knew on a sheet. 

"But that's not…that's not me," Riku slowly said, causing Sora to look up. 

The silver haired boy smiled. 

"I'm not that beautiful." 

A blush. There it was, similar to the one Sora had drawn in his first picture. It made him giddy to see that he had been right about the expression. Riku looked so adorable like that. 

"Yes, you are. That's completely how I see you," Sora replied, taking his time in studying his friend. If anything, the blush only increased, causing Riku to dip his head in embarrassment. 

A few more minutes and Sora was finished, putting the picture away. It seemed as though Riku wanted to say something when he saw Sora rolling it up and stuffing it into his bag but the words remained unspoken. 

Sora turned back to the water, which was still running. He decided to shut it off instead of wasting it all. He was exhausted. Looking at himself in the mirror, he could actually see the bags under his eyes and the drooping eyelids. 

"I look like a zombie," he mumbled, more to himself than to Riku, who immediately came to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around his friend's waist to give support. He rested his head on Sora's shoulder. Together, they looked into the mirror, smiling a bit at the image of them being so close. It made them both blush a bit, actually seeing what they looked like when they were being close. 

"The meeting isn't over yet but I decided to leave early," Riku suddenly murmured, closing his eyes. 

Sora frowned slightly at that. "Is that all right? Couldn't you get into trouble for leaving like that?" he asked, watching Riku's reaction in concern. 

Riku, however, only smiled. 

"I said I wasn't feeling all right so I got Leon's permission to leave." 

Sora's eyes widened immediately. "You're not feeling all right?" What could be wrong with him? Maybe that cold he had been holding down was finally getting to him? He seemed to be coughing a bit every now and then but he never really got the cold. 

Riku, however, only kept his smile, moving his face a bit closer to Sora's neck. 

"I'm fine…it wasn't exactly a lie but…I'm really fine." He paused for a moment, then went on. "The important stuff has been discussed anyway. Now it's only trivial matters, they don't need me for that. I could see that even Leon got bored after a while." 

Leon got bored? He could imagine that. That man seemed to be bored his whole life long. Well, except for the time he was at that night club. He wondered if those rumours were true or just made up stories by seniors who liked to gossip about their headmaster. 

Suddenly, however, his earlier question surfaced in his mind. 

"What things are you discussing there anyway?" Finally he could ask and find out about those meetings. 

He felt Riku chuckle. 

"Top Secret," the boy replied, cracking an eye open to see Sora pout. 

"Really?" 

He chuckled again and moved his head to nuzzle Sora's cheek, then rubbed his face against the junction between his neck and shoulder. After a few moments, though, he stopped and opened his eyes, looking at Sora's reflection. 

"Sora…are you all right?" 

It took some seconds for Sora to register that Riku had said something and eventually just blinked. 

"Sure?" 

He wasn't so sure, though. He felt exhausted and generally uncomfortable but what did Riku mean with 'all right'? 

The silver haired boy pulled away, unwrapping his arms around his waist and Sora almost whined in disappointment but stopped himself when he felt Riku's hands on his shoulders. 

"You're hard as a rock." 

It was a blunt statement, spoken with a flat and matter-of-factly voice. 

Sora barely had time to answer, or rather tilt his head in question because suddenly Riku's hands were moving over his shoulders and neck, applying gentle pressure on the tense flesh. 

"You've been stressed for sometime?" 

Sora sighed at the sensation coursing through him as Riku massaged him. The way those hands moved in circles, rubbing through the material of his shirt and sweater (it felt so good even though he was wearing a lot), it created wonderful bliss and definitely the relaxation he needed. 

Without meaning to, he closed his eyes and dipped his head down to give Riku better access. The boy's hands were magical, they had to be, because Sora almost instantly started to loosen up a bit. 

"School's been tough for me…" Sora quietly began, making it sound like a weak sigh. 

"I have to work so hard for my grades…and I have to do a lot at home. But no matter how much I do, it never seems enough. Mom has to work day and night, she barely sleeps or eats and I want her to feel as comfortable as possible so I try to do everything at home so she just has to come home and relax. But then she keeps on coming home only for half an hour or so before she has to go to the other job. I'm so worried she's going to break down some day. I'm worried about her health and all because I really don't want to lose her." 

It was actually that fear that made him worry and exhausted the most. The fear of losing his mother because she was definitely overworking and destroying herself with it. He knew she was doing it just so they could live, because there really was no other way, but he was still afraid of what might happen. And that made him unable to sleep, which then again caused him to lose concentration at school and so it all had its place in this devil's cycle. 

"Sora…" Riku softly spoke, gently kneading the back of Sora's neck to loosen the tight muscles. It seemed Riku was even a genius at massaging. He simply knew what felt good and his hands could cause so much pleasure. 

"You should worry about yourself a bit," he eventually murmured before leaning closer to brush his lips against the neck. 

It added to the pleasure, causing the brunet to shudder. Sora knew that his knees were going to give in soon if this kept going. 

Smiling a bit, Sora shook his head once in response to Riku. 

"No… I've got you to do that." 

Riku hummed and kissed Sora's neck again, feeling the boy twitch slightly under the touch. He chuckled. 

"I guess you're right," he mumbled, ceasing his motions slowly since Sora seemed more relaxed now. He resumed his former position, arms wrapped around Sora's waist while his head rested on the shoulder. They remained like that for a while, peaceful and contented. Riku smiled at Sora's reflection. He seemed to feel a lot better now. 

"We really do make a good team," an amused comment, "I worry about you and you worry about me…and the rest of the world." 

Sora laughed a bit, leaning his head back to rub his cheek against Riku's. 

"Righto! Someday, I'm gonna save the world or something, and you'll be by my side, telling me not to overexert myself." 

It caused them both to laugh and Riku tightened his arms around his friend before wrinkling his nose. 

"Wait. You'll get to be the hero and I'm the sidekick?" 

Sora grinned. "You can get a cute costume, too! Like…" 

"Don't even say it, Sora," Riku warned, doing his best to glare at his friend. It came out half-heartedly though and Sora shook his head with a smile. 

They quieted down again and only the distant voices of some students running around in the halls were heard. It was so secluded and somehow beautiful even if it was just a toilet. At some point, Sora wondered what chances there were that someone would barge in to, well, do what you're supposed to do on a toilet. It would definitely ruin the mood but it was very likely to happen. 

However, no one came. It remained a secluded sanctuary for both Sora and Riku, quiet and peaceful. 

Quiet, until Riku spoke again. 

"I've made a request today at the meeting and it's been approved. Now we're just waiting for it to be official." 

Sora's ears perked up at that. 

Riku went on, moving his lips closer to Sora's ear until he whispered, "I'm not supposed to tell anyone…but we're going on a school trip for five days. We'll visit a town in the mountains and have some fun. Since everyone seems to need a break, we'll have it. The only thing is, it's going to be right before the winter holidays, right before Christmas, so that means we gotta wait a while." 

Well, less than two months. It wasn't _that_ long, right? One thought occurred to Sora, though. 

"How much will it cost?" 

He almost expected it to be something he couldn't pay for. So much about school trip and fun…he could forget it. 

Riku, however, shook his head as though he was reading his mind. 

"Nothing," he smiled. "Some kids here have rich parents. Well, me for example. And this school has gotten many donations saved for occasions like this. I think everyone at the council agreed on this school trip because I was making the proposition. You know, they'd let me do anything. Last year I demanded a TV in every classroom. We got it but then it was taken away again because some idiots broke it. I got asked to request TVs again but I'm not sure what Leon would think of that." 

He chuckled a bit at the memory of that incident. Sora wondered what else had happened before he got to this school. Riku had been there for a while and he had been school's representative and class president and basically everything for years. He probably had done a lot for the school. 

"No word to the others, though, ok? I'm not supposed to tell anything decided in the meeting until it's an official announcement." 

Sora nodded, pondering over what he had just heard. They were going to go on a school trip for five days right before Christmas. It was perfect because at that time, no one ever wanted to go to school and study. It wouldn't even cost anything! A school trip… A school trip, meaning… 

"We actually get to spend five days together?" 

A kiss on the cheek and a light squeeze around the waist was his only response. 

He smiled. 

– To be continued – 

========= 

**Ending notes: **Umm.... that Italian painter I was thinking about was Botticelli (strange name because it means 'little barrel', using strange things to paint because he used an emulsion of egg and oil mixed with pigment, strange paintings because... just because. Period. That's Sora's opinion, really. I love Botticelli's works.)  
Good...so anyway... oh yeah. Who else was immediately thinking of that something when Riku said "You're hard as a rock"? Just me? Hmpf, probably... ::sighs::  
Ok, I think I'm only ranting here, aren't I? I'll stop, promise! I hope the next chapter can come out sooner (no promise here, I might be stuck again) and yeap....that's a school trip I'm planning. When it's winter and cold outside and all you wanna do is share a blanket and cuddle with your best friend... ::coughs:: -  
But it might take a while until that school trip comes...lots of other things will happen before it's Christmas .

Ok....review if you like and stay tuned for the next chapter please!


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: **It's been forever, I know. I still hate this chapter more than anything, I guess it won't change. That's the reason I couldn't update...I hated everything I wrote and I don't want to post stuff I hate.  
Well, now I ended up posting it anyway. Does that make sense? No, but it doesn't matter. Here's your chapter 20... unbeta-ed.

* * *

Riku sighed. It was another one of those days where you just wanted to crawl under the blanket and hide. Things had been going well lately; school was always all right, mostly because of Sora, and home wasn't that bad either. Sure, the evil woman who called herself mother was a great annoyance but when had that been different? It even seemed as though she had suddenly decided to give him a little more privacy, which was odd. She was probably busy planning the fiancée party.

So today, the birds were chirping, the sun was shining and Riku was cursing his way through the halls until he finally left his house. He hadn't wanted to get up. Wanted to dream a little longer. But the thought of seeing Sora quickly overpowered his sour mood and soon he was heading towards the boy's house in a steady pace. 

---- 

It was another one of those days, Sora grumpily thought, where you just wanted to crawl under the blanket and hide. Not even the thought of Riku could help him much, really. Of course he wanted to see his friend, of course he wanted to be with him. But today really sucked. 

The weather was nice, which should have made Sora happy, too but somehow it only served to make it worse. 

"Yeah, keep chirping, you stupid birds," the brunet muttered, stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth. It was the last piece, the last edible thing in this house. He made a mental note to go out for some grocery shopping after school since his mother had left him a small amount of money to spend. Even with two jobs, both being better than what she had been doing before, there still wasn't enough money to live by normal standards. They were still poor. 

Another pang in his chest, another stupid thing today. Not that being poor was so bad, Sora was used to it, but it still bothered him simply because everything bothered him today. 

Lack of sleep and stress were simply the worst enemy of every human being. 

The doorbell rang. Yes, the doorbell was finally working. They had had it since they moved it but it was broken, so Ryoko had to try and fix it. And miraculously she did. But Sora cursed this doorbell because it always made this annoying buzzing sound he hated so much since it reminded him of bees, and he hated bees. Not only today. 

"Coming, coming," he muttered, yawning once more before grabbing his schoolbag to leave. 

Outside, Riku was waiting. Sora tried to ignore the urge to hug him, since he wasn't in the mood for anything today, but when he saw that inviting sweater (it was light grey and looked so fluffy, just like a cloud), he couldn't help himself. 

Riku smiled when he felt the boy cling to him, inhaling deeply and blowing out the breath against his chest. 

"Good morning to you, too," he chuckled, gently caressing his friend's hair. 

Sora pulled away, adjusting the hood on his sweater before motioning Riku to go. 

For a while, they were silent, just walking beside each other as the cars passed by on the road beside them. They walked in a steady pace, not too slow but not really fast either and both seemed to be absorbed into their own little world. 

Sora was still in a lousy mood, even being with Riku couldn't change that. Well, not quite. He had to admit that he did feel a little bit better in the silver haired boy's presence. Smiling a little, he reached out to grasp Riku's hand. 

Riku wasn't really surprised, just a bit startled when he felt the warm hand touching his cold one. His hands were always cold. 

"Your hands are freezing," Sora quietly mumbled, frowning a bit as he turned to his friend. 

Riku shrugged slightly, not too comfortable with Sora noticing all those things about him. He hated the way his hands were always cold – it made him seem detached, lifeless… 

A smile quickly replaced the frown and boy, was it a beautiful smile. 

"You need to keep them warm!" 

Riku could only blink in slight bewilderment and then gasp in shock when Sora took both of his hands into his, lifting them up to his lips to kiss them. 

For a moment, time stood still. There was nothing around them, there was only them standing together, Sora's lips pressed to Riku's hands. He closed his eyes to savour the moment, surprised as to how good it felt to have those lips press against the back of his hand, slowly moving their way to the icy fingers. 

They had stopped walking long time ago and would probably be late for school if they kept standing in the middle of the street, but neither seemed to care. 

Riku parted his lips as he felt Sora kiss his fingers, leaving burning hot marks – at least that's what he felt. In a matter of seconds, Riku felt warm all over, his body tingling as he opened his eyes in confusion. They were clouded and unfocused but he tried to look at Sora anyway. 

"Better?" the brunet asked, having pulled away a few seconds ago. He was blushing a bit, not really sure about what he had just done. 

Riku felt himself blush a bit too when he realized what had just happened. Guys weren't supposed to do that, at least not in public. Yet, it had still felt so nice and so right. 

"Thanks," he replied, giving Sora a small kiss on the cheek. 

Sora's cheeks flared up immediately (even though he should have been used to those kisses already) and he jerked his head into the direction of the school and motioned Riku to pick up the pace. 

"Let's get going, I don't want to be responsible for being late again." 

Riku chuckled and lightly smacked Sora before going, earning a cute pout. 

---- 

During lunch break, they were allowed to eat outside instead of the usual cafeteria. The weather was nice enough and seemed suspiciously warm for an autumn day. No one was going to complain about that. 

Sora and Riku had been sitting with Kairi and Selphie in the cafeteria, talking about this and that. It was their usual talk about latest gossip and news, complaints about teachers and classes. 

Well, Selphie did the most complaining. Kairi was there for gossip. Sora and Riku, however, were often more distracted than interested. 

Distracted by each other, to be exact. 

For one, Riku's hand would always vanish under the table after some time. A few minutes after, Sora would blush and smile at Riku, trying his best not to make it too obvious. They sat close together, their hands disappearing under the table, but Kairi knew they were holding hands. 

It didn't take a genius to see what was going on between them. They didn't even seem to try hard in hiding. 

It hurt Kairi a little but not enough to go between them, for Kairi cared a lot about Riku. She had always cared, in a sisterly kind of way he had probably never understood. But from what she knew about Riku, she knew he was lonely. And she also knew that she was never going to be the one to change this. 

But with Sora here… With Sora smiling at Riku, Sora holding his hand, Sora simply being Sora… it would be all right. Riku was warming up, not only to Sora but also to others. 

Of course, almost no one noticed since they were all too blinded by their fantasies about their perfect God. But Riku had always been acting around them, playing his role as the super-human. Now, however, he seemed to finally allow himself to feel too. He smiled sometimes and it was not that charming smile he used to make dozens of girls swoon. 

He laughed sometimes, mostly because of the things Sora said, and it sounded so carefree and sincere. 

Kairi was jealous, for Sora was able to make Riku feel like this while she had been completely useless. 

That didn't stop her from loving Sora, though. She knew she had a crush on him, a major crush. She had caught herself writing his name on her desk, adding hearts and flowers to it and all that silly stuff teenage girls did when they were in love. 

She knew she was being stupid but she couldn't help it. Seeing Sora made her stomach jump up and down and she would get this silly smile on her face whenever he looked at her. 

Sora was simply the perfect boy. He was nice to everyone, he was cute, adorable, sweet. He was friendly and helpful. He wasn't a genius, but that's what she liked about him. He was simply him, and that was more than enough. 

She wished she could tell Sora how she felt but she suspected that he wouldn't return her feelings. He was probably one to say that he was flattered, would give her a smile and try his best to make her understand without hurting her. Sora was just this type of guy… 

Riku leaned in, whispering something into Sora's ear. 

Smiling, the boy nodded and cleared his throat. 

"Hey, um, guys," he addressed Kairi and Selphie who had both been watching their friends curiously. 

"Riku and I are going to go outside for a while, okay? Since the weather is nice and all…" He gave them some kind of apologetic smile and turned to Riku. 

The silver haired boy looked at Kairi as though he was asking for her permission. 

Of course Kairi agreed and waved at them when they made their way out of the cafeteria. When they gone, Selphie heaved a long sigh, putting down the sandwich she had been eating. 

"Man, Kairi, I feel so sorry for you…" 

Kairi smiled and shook her head. "Nah, it's all right. I like seeing them together…" Even though it hurt, she was set to pull through. She wanted Riku to be happy and she knew she had no chance with Sora. They were already madly in love with each other, so there was no hope. 

--- 

Riku pulled Sora along, leading him to a secluded little place in the corner of the schoolyard. They were surrounded by grass as they sat down, first next to each other, but Riku soon pulled Sora close for him to sit on his lap. 

"This is awkward," Sora commented as he wriggled slightly into a comfortable position. Riku just smiled and wrapped his arms around Sora's waist. 

"Awkward but nice," he replied, snuggling closer to the boy in his arms. 

Sora chuckled and sighed, leaning back against Riku. 

"It's weird, though…" he murmured, swaying his head slightly. "I mean… what we do… and what we think…" 

Riku perked up at that. "What we think?" he repeated, blinking his aqua eyes in curiosity. 

Sora blushed a bit and shrugged. He avoided to answer the question, though. "We're friends and we like each other, right?" 

Riku nodded. 

"And we hug…and we sit around like this…" 

Of course Riku had noticed the slight difference between them and regular friends. Friends hugged each other, all right, but it was more of a girl-thing to do. Girls hugged each other regularly whereas guys only patted each other's backs and shook hands. 

"Don't you think we're acting a bit weird…?" Sora tentatively asked, sounding strangely insecure. 

Riku frowned. Surely they were not like others, they had been through this before, right? That day when they were in the rain, standing in front of Sora's house… but they had decided, no _Sora_ had decided that it was all right this way. So why was he feeling insecure now? 

Riku knew that he cared for Sora like he had never cared for anyone and he liked being with Sora, doing those things even though others would think of them as weird. It wasn't like anyone was going to be against what their _God_, the _perfect angel_ was doing. 

"Do you?" he eventually asked, nudging his friend slightly. 

Sora shook his head immediately. Then he paused, frowning slightly. He looked at Riku, then down to his lap, then back at Riku, all the while having his arms around Riku's neck, playing with the hair brushing against his fingers. 

He liked being like this… 

"I…I don't know. I guess I do," he admitted quietly, looking away for a while. When he felt Riku's hand move away from his waist, up to his chin to tilt it back to meet his eyes, Sora sighed. 

"But I like when we're like this…" he whispered, leaning in closely so that their foreheads touched. 

They could feel each other's breaths against their lips and Riku was all too ready to kiss Sora, not giving a damn about it being weird. He wanted it and he always got what he wanted. 

However, when their lips were about to make contact, Sora suddenly pulled away, scampering off Riku's lap. 

"So I was like, what'cha doing here? And he was like, nothing, and I knew he was cheating on me with that girl but he said he wasn't so I told him to go to hell and we got into a big fight and he broke up with me but I don't care 'cause…" 

A group of chattering girls passed them, one of them rambling as the others listening intently and 'ooh'-ed and 'ah'-ed occasionally. 

Riku rolled his eyes in annoyance but was kind of relieved that they hadn't seemed to notice him. It would be the first time his fangirls walked by without screaming, drooling or doing other strange things. 

Sora looked miserable all of the sudden, sitting there beside Riku. 

"What's wrong?" the silver haired boy queried, reaching out a hand to pat Sora. 

However, when the other boy was about to open his mouth and say something, the group of girls that had just passed by, came back into view. 

"It's Riku!" one of them shrieked, causing everyone else in the schoolyard to look into their direction. 

So much about secluded place. 

Soon, they were being chased down by rabid fans and Riku could only grab Sora's hand before dashing off as fast as he could. 

Sora tagged along, being pulled by Riku who was running inhumanly fast. Eventually, they managed to hide in the boy's bathroom, though he knew the fangirls probably wouldn't refrain from following them in here. 

"I hate them," Riku muttered, shaking his head in annoyance. 

Sora nodded and sighed, leaning against one of the sinks. 

Riku watched him in concern, wondering what was wrong with Sora lately. He was overworked and stressed out but there seemed to be something else bothering him. What was it? 

"Sora…" 

Before he could say another thing, the younger boy turned to him with a bright smile and hugged him close, tightening his arms with every breath he took. 

"I'm just…having a bad day…don't worry about me," Sora murmured against Riku's neck before nuzzling it. 

Riku hummed in acceptance and squeezed his friend. "The day is almost over, you can go home and rest then." 

Sora chuckled. "If it were that easy…" he muttered, more to himself than to Riku, but the silver haired boy caught it, frowning as he did. 

What was going on? Was it the tests? Or his home? Or both? Maybe Sora was really overstrained with everything going on. 

"Let me help you, Sora. No matter what it is, I'll do it." 

He felt the brunet press a soft kiss to his neck, as if to say that it was all right. He just hoped it was true. 

--- 

Saying goodbye had been extra hard today. Riku couldn't, wouldn't let go of Sora. They remained standing in front of Sora's house for over half an hour, hugging. 

It was only until Riku realized how late it was that he had to get going. Sora gave him a smile but Riku wondered if it was really all right to leave Sora all by himself. 

"I'm fine, don't worry, hunny bunny!" the boy had laughed, shoving Riku into the direction of his home to get him going. 

Riku had only frowned but tried to smile anyway. "All right, but don't you dare to pass out from exhaustion, marshmallow." 

Sora had nodded and given him the victory sign. 

When Riku had come home, it had begun to rain and he was reminded of the party that was going to take place tonight. He had completely forgotten about it due to his worries about Sora, but being ushered into his room to change and get ready made it all come back. 

He had immediately called up Sora, feeling the need to complain to someone. Sora, of course, had listened and tried to cheer him up, telling him that he would try his best to stop time for him. 

They had a good time talking on the phone but it passed too quickly, leaving Sora with even more work and less time. Riku apologized but Sora said it was all right. 

When they hung up, they both kissed the receiver without knowing that the other was doing it too. 

--- 

So now it was time. 

Riku lay in his bed. Only half an hour was left until the stupid fiancée party would begin. He couldn't believe it was already time for that. He had completely suppressed the thought of this party up until now. He remembered being in the bathroom with Sora a few days ago, talking about the school trip. Back then, he had been aware of this party but hadn't cared much since it had seemed so far away. 

But now it was here. It was time. And he wanted nothing more than to disappear. Didn't Sora say he would stop time? 

He sighed. 

"Damn you, Sora…your magic isn't working!" he muttered, pouting slightly as he stared at the ceiling. 

He was already fully dressed. Black tuxedo, white shirt, his mother even tried forcing him to wear a tie but he flat out refused it in throwing it on his balcony, stating his point rather childishly but still very clearly. He had half expected her to slap him for this and was surprised when she had only given him that evil look before exiting the room to leave the servants working on her son. It was the way she always reacted. She never bothered to take the time, never bothered to explain why she wanted certain things, always only demanded and ordered. And when things didn't go the way she wanted them, she let others take care of the situation until it _was_ the way she wanted it. Riku hated this. 

So now there were two maids and one butler, still trying to talk him into getting up from the bed so they could brush his hair. Brush his hair! Riku rolled his eyes. 

"Master Riku, I beg you to leave the bed. We must get you ready for this party. The mistress will not allow any mistakes." 

'Mistakes, my ass.' That's what he would have liked to say. He could have said it, too, since there were only his servants who wouldn't dare to say anything against his foul mouth or inappropriate language, and yet he still chose not to voice his thoughts. He had been taught not to state his thoughts when they were like this. 

Nevertheless, he wanted them to leave him alone and decided that he could tell them without being mean. 

"Leave the room, now. I'll be fine on my own and I promise to be downstairs in twenty minutes. Your job is done, so just get out of here." 

Now that sounded appropriate, right? Riku sat up and straightened himself, waving his hand in dismissal. The servants looked a little lost, seemingly unsure of what to do and whom to obey. Riku knew that he was making it extra hard for them with his bratty behavior but could he help it? No, he couldn't. He wanted his privacy at least for twenty minutes and he definitely didn't want anyone to touch his hair. 

"Get out," he repeated, still not sounding hostile but still kind of intimidating and eventually, the maids recoiled, leaving only the butler in the room. 

The man was about to open his mouth and say something but Riku ignored it and let himself fall backwards to stare at the ceiling. 

Shaking his head in what seemed to be weariness, the servant slowly left the room, finally giving Riku the wanted peace and quiet. 

Peace and quiet. The quiet before the storm. Soon, the mansion would be flooded by idiotic upper class girls, shrill voices and fake laughter. How was he supposed to find the one he wanted to spend his life with in that mass? 

"Sora…" 

A frown formed on his forehead and he rolled to his side, curling up as though he was cold. He didn't care about the fact that he was making wrinkles in his newly bought tuxedo. He didn't even understand why he had to wear a tuxedo anyway. He looked like a penguin. 

Riku suddenly grinned. 

The image of Ryoko shot through his mind and he remembered the time she had picked up the phone when he actually wanted to talk to Sora. 

"Mother…" he murmured, uncurling slowly to stretch his legs out. Ryoko was a real mother, or at least she was what Riku thought a mother should be. Caring, loving, understanding, funny. _Caring_, was the keyword, he thought. Ryoko cared. Not only for Sora but also for him, he could feel it. That woman cared for everyone in a way. 

Unlike his mother, Ryoko had a heart. 

"She probably never wanted me," he mumbled, ignoring the slight stinging in his chest. He sat up again, rolling his eyes as the random thought of doing sit-ups crossed his mind. With all the lying down, sitting up, lying down and sitting up yet again, he was probably doing more work-out than anyone else. He sighed, turning his eyes to stare at the door on the opposite side of the room. 

The white surface of the wooden door was intimidating. Really, it was. Though he didn't quite know why, not even when he cocked his head to examine the door a bit closer. 

He had never realized it before but this door…it seemed so solid and impenetrable. And looking at it for a little longer, Riku almost felt like being choked by the door and the power it seemed to have. He was trapped in this room and even though it was as huge as Sora's apartment, it still felt like a cage, especially with that door that scared Riku now more then ever. It was like the ultimate barrier. 

"…what the hell am I thinking…?" he slowly murmured, shaking his head vigorously to clear his thoughts. 

Obviously, this whole fiancée party thing was getting on his nerves so much that he began to think of strange stuff. 

But that door was really intimidating… 

"Shut up," he told his mind, shaking his head once again before dragging himself out of bed. He wandered over to the French windows and opened them, feeling the cold evening breeze hiss at him. It was still raining and the rain only served to remind him of Sora. Why? Probably because of that one afternoon he had shared with Sora, the one under the trees. 

A smile crept up his lips as he suddenly saw the past event play in his mind. Everything had been relaxed and peaceful and the feelings he'd had… 

Riku blushed. He didn't even realize but his cheeks were getting pink at the memory of what exactly happened that afternoon. How _close_ they had been. How _close_ they had been today. He noticed that whenever he was with Sora, something strange was happening inside him, something that felt like a swirling inside his body. It was pleasant, though. 

He closed his eyes slowly, drowning in the memory of _that_ feeling. If he concentrated on this one memory, he could almost feel Sora beside him. In his mind, he could see him, could smell him and hear him breathe. In his mind, Sora was there. 

A row of knocks interrupted the wonderful moment. 

"Master Riku, your mother demands your presence in the foyer." 

That annoying voice! Not that he recognized it in particular (he rarely registered the people working for him) but the fact that this voice had just destroyed what little had been left of his privacy and happiness really made him think of strangling the annoying, yet innocent, maid. 

"Master Riku!" she called, knocking on the door again. Before he even had the chance to groan, the door crept open, revealing a very self-conscious looking young woman. 

"The…the mistress demands your—" 

"Presence, yes, you said that," Riku hurriedly finished as he brushed himself off to make his way toward the door. 

The maid bowed her head meekly as he passed her and closed the door behind him. 

When he was about to reach the staircase, the maid still standing at the door, he turned around to face her. 

"Say…" he began, clearing his throat a little. 

The maid didn't dare to look up, as she was not supposed to, but the long pause in Riku's speech made her peer at him eventually. 

He nodded at her and gestured with his hand towards himself. 

"How do I look?" he asked, smirking slightly at the reddening face and absolutely shocked expression. 

The maid bowed again, and mumbled a quiet response. 

Riku chuckled and shook his head, turning around once more to finally head to the foyer. It was obvious that the maid was too flustered to even think straight for the next, let's say, four hours, so he thought it was best to leave her alone. 

It was weird, though. All of his life had been like this. Everyone treated him like the maid did. Always bowing their heads, always getting flustered when he talked to them. 

All of them, except one person. 

He didn't even want to speak his name aloud, now that he was nearing the anteroom. Who knew how well his mother could hear? She might eavesdrop on his spoken thoughts and if that name ever slipped from his lips, he _and the owner of this name _were going to be dead and buried. 

Although, technically, she had heard the name before. That phone call, he remembered. But before he could start to think about this mysterious person who supposedly knew about 'him and Sora', he reached the entrance hall where he could see his mother looking at him with that cold, yet excited expression. An oxymoron? Well, not quite. She didn't look cold in the sense of emotionless. The expression on her face was very clear and bold, the excitement of having a party and the stress of planning this party were clearly visible on her features. The coldness Riku saw was something only he could see. That arctic feeling that surrounded her, the merciless power of her glaring eyes. Maybe he was just imagining all that, maybe she was actually not like this, but one thing he knew. This woman loathed him, didn't care for him, only saw him as one of the pretty objects she could show off. 

He hated her for this and yet he couldn't help but feel that he belonged in here. This had been his home for fifteen years, every day had been like this – he was one of those stuck up people. 

Sighing, he strolled to his mother, straightening automatically since he felt like being inspected by her. 

"There you are," she began, already using that slightly annoyed tone in her voice. It was like no matter what Riku did, she was always upset about it. 

"What took you so long? Well, never mind now. Your father and I have planned this party very carefully so you better behave. Don't run off to hide in your room like you did last time. Don't be rude to the people here; they are all acquaintances and colleagues of us, so it is very important to be polite and well mannered. Remember, Riku, this evening could be a major event in your life." 

Very impressive, indeed, Riku sarcastically thought. This was the most his mother had talked to him in years, maybe it was the most ever because usually she just gave short commands or scolded him. 

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, putting on that fake smile he had learned to wear over the years. He was one of them, at least for this evening. There was nothing he could do about it. 

His mother actually smiled back, equally fake, but she smiled. 

And so everything was okay. 

"The guests will arrive soon. I will have the maids to open the doors but you have to be right there to greet everyone. A good host does that, remember it." 

They nodded at each other, and to a stranger it might have seemed civil, probably even friendly, but their gestures were mere acts. Acts of politeness and manners they had learned to use even if their feelings were the complete opposite. 

Riku hated himself for being able to put up this act. 

--- 

In his room, Sora was slowly losing his mind because of his studies. Textbooks and notes were scattered across the small desk and the brunet decided to give up for the moment. 

He lay down on his bed, holding his head as he heaved a sigh. It was about 10 pm and he hadn't eaten yet. Ryoko had left some money for him to buy food but he simply hadn't found the time to do so and now he was lying in his bed with nothing in his stomach. 

"I can't work like this," he mumbled, trying to drag himself back up to get something to eat. They _had_ to have at least _something_. 

However, when he tried to get up, he found that his body wouldn't obey and instead he remained lying limply on the bed, muscles relaxing in exhaustion. He thought of his mother and how she would be working until after midnight again just to leave before the sun rose for her next job. It was crazy, he thought. No one could stand that. He couldn't stand living like he did at the moment, so how could his mother? 

He sighed. Riku had said he wanted to help him, do whatever was needed to do. But Riku couldn't help. What should he do? 

"Being with you is the only thing that keeps me alive…" he murmured, trying to curl up, but he was too tired to even do that. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander. 

Riku was probably dodging and avoiding stupid girls right now. Sora couldn't help but feel hostile towards those girls, even though he didn't even know them. But the fact that one of them might be Riku's future-wife made Sora a little jealous. 

Not that he wanted to be his wife or anything. 

Sora blushed. "I blame it on the lack of food…" he told himself, pouting slightly at his thoughts. All he wanted right now was Riku holding him, telling him that everything was going to be all right – that he wouldn't marry anyone and stay with Sora forever. 

"Shut up," he told himself, blushing harder at those thoughts. How come he was getting so mushy all of the sudden? It wasn't like him at all, and he shouldn't have those thoughts about Riku. Riku was his best friend. 

Opening his eyes once again, he tried to get up, just for a second to get to the bathroom and brush his teeth. He was not surprised to find that his body wouldn't move one inch. 

Lying still, he stared up at the underside of the top bunk. 

So now he was hungry, unable to move, and still not finished studying for the test coming in two days. 

Could it get any worse? 

– To be continued –

* * *

****

**Ending notes: **There are many ideas in my head on how to continue this. I actually planned a Halloween Special Chapter to be out on the 31st but I guess that idea is out of the window now. I might still inculde a Halloween party even if the next update is at Christmas... I'm not sure yet. Anyway... review if you like, tell me what you thought about this chapter.  
And that's all.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Hn. 

**Author's notes: **I must post this chapter too. I like it better than the last one, but that's my opinion. At least I don't hate it.  
The Halloween thing is included here...even though it turned out differently from what I imagined and it's late, too.  
But still...read this chapter. I hope you enjoy it! (unbeta-ed again.... --)

* * *

Leaves were falling endlessly, swaying gently with the wind. Sora loved autumn.

"Have you heard about the Halloween party next week?" 

Their shoes created ripples in the little puddles on the ground, splashing cloudy water onto the dried up, colored leafage. 

"Yup. Everyone keeps talking about it. Kairi said she's already got a costume." He scrunched up his face in slight disgust at that. "I don't really see why we have to dress up. It's not like…" Memories of his last Halloween party came back to him, making him smile and frown at the same time. It had been in his old school, a few years before. They had to dress up too and Sora had no costume so his mother gave him a white sheet, making two holes into it so he could go as ghost. 

"It'll be fun," Riku softly murmured, sounding as though he was trying to coax Sora into this party thing. Well, it wasn't like he had a chance to say no anyway. They _had_ to attend this party. Which sucked a lot. He pouted. 

Riku chuckled as he saw this and shook his head as he put his arm around his friend. "Weird, I always struck you as the party-loving type of guy," he said with a smile. Sora sighed and leaned into the half embrace he was in. 

"I like parties… but I don't want to go through the stress of trying to find a costume…" He knew he wouldn't be able to afford anything fancy, and going as ghost again was out of question. He would feel dumb with a white sheet over his head. 

Riku frowned at the weary tone in his voice and absently pulled Sora closer. Curling his fingers into the soft fabric of Sora's sweater, he rubbed gently rubbed his arm. Sora was getting more and more exhausted from day to day, Riku could see it. But whenever he tried to ask what was wrong, Sora would just smile and say that he was fine. It worried Riku. 

He remembered calling Sora after the last fiancée party. It had been late all right but usually Sora was still awake at this hour. At that time, however, Sora hadn't picked up. And on the next day, Riku had waited ten minutes, ringing the doorbell before Sora actually showed up. He had looked remarkably tired but when Riku offered to help him carry his bag, Sora refused to do so, saying that he was perfectly fine. It hurt Riku to see Sora pushing himself like that but what could he do? 

Well, at least Sora seemed a bit better today. He hadn't yawned as much, hadn't tripped as much. He was looking pretty content today, so Riku was happy for that. 

"I could get you one," Riku offered, referring to the costume even though his thoughts were far, far away. 

Sora stopped walking. At first, Riku thought he was going to say something but when he felt the boy wrap his arms around him in an attempt to find some comfort, Riku quickly returned the embrace. 

"I'm not going…" he heard the brunet mumble, and he couldn't help but note how much it reminded him of a stubborn child. 

"Yes you are, I'll make sure of it," Riku gently replied, lifting a hand to run it through Sora's hair. It was times like these Riku wondered just how stubborn Sora really was. Because most of the time it seemed as though he would give in gladly and only tried to struggle for a bit to annoy Riku. Not that Sora would ever annoy Riku in any way… 

He sighed, feeling the light puffs of breath against his throat and neck. It felt nice to be so close. Whenever they hugged, it was intimate and gave a feeling of such familiarity and comfort that he didn't want to let go anymore. Sora was closer than family, closer than anything Riku had ever known. It was like he had become part of himself, somehow. 

"Can you stay with me this afternoon?" came a timid question, to which Riku could only blink. He adjusted to the feeling of Sora clutching to him, now more desperately than before, and thought for a while. 

It wasn't like his parents would care, right? Sure, he was to come home right after school… but did they know when school ended for him? And why not use the massive attack of fangirls as an excuse? They had always believed that story. He'd just have to make sure that he got home before it got really dark. 

Well, not that there was much time left. It was already beginning to get dark as the season seemed to make the nights longer and days shorter. The amount of sunlight was already decreasing and the misty and foggy weather only made it worse. 

But he could stay out for at least another hour, right? He could say he had extra classes, he was sure his parents would believe him that. It had happened before. 

"All right," he eventually concluded, gently loosening Sora's arms around him to push him away. 

"We ought to get going, though. We shouldn't be standing in the cold like this." He gestured Sora to head on but the other boy shrugged. 

"I like being here…" he looked around, eyes wandering over leaf-covered streets and muddy puddles from the previously fallen rain. 

Riku followed his gaze, taking in their surroundings for the first time this day. He had been too busy thinking of other things to notice the streets. But it wasn't like he paid much attention to those things in the first place. 

"Looks kinda hopeless to me," he commented, seeing the gray streets covered in mist and mud. 

Sora spun around to glare – correction – pout at him. "It's not hopeless! It's beautiful, actually…" He cocked his head and watched the cascading leaves land in a puddle, creating little waves as they hit the surface. 

"See?" he quietly murmured, smiling slightly at the sight. 

Riku tilted his head, trying to see whatever Sora wanted him to see. Really, he couldn't understand what Sora liked about rainy weather. There was no beauty in it…was there? 

"If you look closely it's not all gray and boring. Look at the leaves, they're all different colors! And the little motions they make when they sway in the wind! And…" Sora turned to Riku again, grabbing him by the shoulders which caused the silver haired boy to blink in surprise. 

Sora leaned upwards, close to Riku's face and their lips met for an instant. But only an instant. 

Riku blinked once more when he saw Sora's face move away from his; radiant smile beaming at him. 

"What…was that for?" he asked in slight amusement, feeling relieved to see Sora smile like that. He'd been rather cheerless and wary lately; it felt good to see him happy again. 

Sora shrugged and turned on his heels. "Just wanted to show you another nice thing." 

Riku chuckled. 

--- 

Sora was glad that Riku had agreed to stay with him for the rest of the afternoon. Having Riku there with him gave him strength and energy, even though he should have been exhausted. 

Ryoko hadn't come home last night, probably spent the few hours of spare time outside before hurrying to her next job. It was crazy but Sora couldn't do anything against it. Telling his mother to take it easy only resulted in her giving him that smile and making the victory sign before pushing herself even further. 

It was frustrating and depressing to see her act that way. He wondered how long she would be able to keep it up. 

"I'll help you," Riku offered as Sora got up to do the laundry. They had been doing homework together. Well, actually Riku did most of the work, explaining everything while doing it so Sora could copy and try to understand it. He hated math, though. Sora wasn't much of a mathematic person. 

Not that Riku was, but Riku was good at everything. Or maybe not at everything… 

"No, that's okay," Sora chuckled when he saw Riku standing helplessly before a pile of dirty clothes. It was rather funny to see him so clueless and puzzled. 

"You haven't done anything like that before, have you?" 

Riku ran a hand through his hair before looking at Sora rather sheepishly. "Heh. I have maids to do that. I've never…even thought of doing this," he admitted, stepping to the side as Sora moved to the small shower. 

Turning on the water, he quickly got a bit of washing powder, not bothering to measure how much exactly it was. He knew what he was doing. 

Riku watched in curiosity as Sora began to make motions with his hands to stir the water. 

"What'cha doing?" he asked, cocking his head in wonder. 

Sora grinned and continued. "Just checking the temperature of the water. I don't wanna boil or freeze my hands…" He then walked to the heap of clothes and gathered it up in his arms before throwing into the water. 

"Now we let it soak." 

Riku stared in confusion. "Soak?" 

Sora nodded and smiled. "Actually you don't have to soak it for very long but I'm lazy, so let's just pretend there are really bad stains. So I can leave the clothes here for a while." 

Riku obviously didn't know much about washing clothes and just shrugged, thinking that whatever Sora thought was right would be right. When Sora left the bathroom, Riku just followed until they were back in Sora's room. Riku loved that room. It was so small and cramped but that's probably what made him love it so much. It gave off a feeling of protection, unlike that huge room of his. The huge room with the huge white doors he was so afraid of (even though there was no reason). 

"It's almost time for you to go," Sora quietly mumbled, looking at the alarm clock on his desk. 

Riku sighed, knowing fully well that he had to go but still hoping that there was a chance to stay here. However, reason took over, and reason told him that there was no way he could spend any more time than he already had. His parents would kill him. Well, his mother to be exact. 

"It's all her fault. If she would give me a little more freedom…" he mumbled, heaving an annoyed sigh. Sora smiled and patted his head as though he were a little child. 

"Aw, don't blame everything on your mother. I'm sure she's a nice person, she just doesn't know how you feel." 

Riku looked up. Why was Sora saying those things? He didn't even know his mother! And from all the things Riku had told him about her, he must be hating her by now. But Sora said… 

"How can you say she's a good person? She puts me through hell every day," he insisted, crossing his arms stubbornly. 

Sora raised his eyebrows, as Riku seemed slightly offended by what he had said. Then he pouted, and looked down, crossing his arms, too. 

"Just because you don't get along with her, it doesn't mean she's a bad person. Maybe you two just…don't understand each other," Sora answered, unfolding his arms to scratch his head in thought. 

"Or maybe…" 

Riku sighed again, shaking his head. "You're too naïve, Sora…" 

"Am not!" Sora immediately replied, lifting his gaze to glare at Riku. The latter only smirked, shifting on the bed until he was moving towards Sora, lifting his hand. 

Sora blinked and blushed a bit as the hand neared his cheek. He could feel the warmth of Riku's hand close to him, even though the silver haired boy's hands were cold most of the time. He could still feel the body warmth he emitted and it made him redden just a bit. 

The hand, ghosting over his cheek, wandered up to his forehead and Sora turned his eyes to look up at it. 

Riku poked him. 

"….Ow!" 

Riku withdrew his hand slowly, grinning at first, before he started laughing fully at Sora's absolutely adorable expression. He was just too… 

"Why did you poke me?!" 

…angry? Riku blinked, gazing at Sora who was currently scowling at him. Suddenly, Riku felt sorry. 

"I just…" Well, why did he do it? Because Sora was naïve to think the evil woman who was supposed to be his mother was a good person? Yeah, that's right. Because no one as hellish as that could be a good person. And it bothered him that Sora was seemingly siding with that witch. So he poked him. 

"You're siding with my mom," he replied after having it all sorted out in his head. For some reason it sounded incredibly childish and dumb after he said it. 

Sora, however, blinked in surprise. "I did?" 

Now what? He didn't even know what he was saying? Riku rolled his eyes. "Yes, you did." 

He watched as his friend reached up to scratch his head yet again. "When? How? I just said…" Then he stopped, eyes widening in realization. After that, he gave Riku a doubting look. 

"You…you thought I was on her side just because of that? I was just trying to make it easier for you. Maybe if you keep believing that she's not just evil, you'll get along with her. I didn't think you'd be so…" 

Childish. Riku knew Sora was going to say that but had stopped before the word actually left his mouth. 

Maybe he was childish…but still. 

"Well, don't say those things about her if you don't know what's going on. If you were in my shoes for one day, you'd see how horrible she can be." For some reason, even that didn't sound as good as it should have after he said it. Seeing as Sora rarely saw his mother, he would probably _like_ having that woman around to tell him this and that. Sora didn't seem to care if people cared for him as long as they were around…which Ryoko wasn't. 

"I'm sorry…" Sora suddenly mumbled, looking down at the hands resting in his lap. 

Riku looked up in surprise and cocked his head. "What? Why?" Had he missed something? 

Sora shrugged and smiled. "Because I was siding with the enemy. It will never happen again. Promise!" 

It made Riku smile again and when Sora stuck his hand out to make it an official pact, Riku gladly took it before pulling him into a short hug. 

"Good then. I need a sidekick in my quest of fighting the evil woman." 

"What? I thought we said _I_ was the hero and _you're_ my sidekick!" 

Riku chuckled. "Nope, forget it." Got punched by Sora. Chuckled again. 

Eventually, the boys dragged themselves out of the room since it was time to leave. Riku couldn't help but notice how reluctant Sora seemed when getting up; not so much because he didn't want to but simply because he couldn't. 

"Are you all right?" he quietly asked, offering his hand to Sora to help him up. 

The brunet nodded and sighed, gathering his strength to push himself up. "Just tired." 

Tired. Sora was always tired. 

"You're always tired," Riku commented as he took Sora's hand. 

Sora gave him a weary smile and shrugged. "It'll pass. Once the holidays come, I'll rest and everything's fine." He just wished it were true. 

Riku was hesitant to accept this but eventually decided that this was all he could do. 

When they were at the door, it was already starting to get really dark and streetlamps were starting to light up. 

"Want me to call you later?" They embraced just to feel the closeness once more before letting go. 

"Yeah…but in case I don't pick up, I'm probably already asleep." 

Riku nodded, giving Sora a kiss on the forehead and patting his head before he turned to hurry home. 

As he was walking, Sora's words came back to him. 

_"I'm sure she's a nice person, she just doesn't know how you feel"_

It was true. She didn't know how he felt. She didn't know anything about him, but neither did she care. Riku just didn't see the point in telling his mother how he felt when she wouldn't even listen. If she listened, all this wouldn't happen anyway. 

So it was her fault. Her fault because she was evil. 

_"Just because you don't get along with her, it doesn't mean she's a bad person."_

'Why not?' Riku asked himself. Just as she didn't know much about him, he didn't know much about her. Maybe there were good things about her he just didn't know? 

"Nonsense…" he dejectedly mumbled, tugging on the strap of his schoolbag to adjust it. His mother was evil. Period. And she was probably oragnizing even more of those parties with lots of rich girls since they hadn't been able to find an appropriate fiancèe for him as of yet. 

Yet, when he came home seeing his mother sit in the lounge reading a book, he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. When she was sitting there, reading this book. She seemed peaceful and there was no doubt that she was beautiful, very graceful. 

Riku stopped for a moment before making his way to the staircase towards his room. He stood in front of the lounge, looking through the open door. Who was this woman, sitting on the upholstered sofa? What was she thinking, what was she doing all the time? 

He shook his head and quickly went to the staircase. He didn't know a thing about her. But he was afraid of asking her, of breaking this wall of ignorance. He supposed it was better to hate the evilness of his mother and pretend that everything was all right. 

With that thought fixed in mind, he walked upstairs and disappeared into his room. 

He hadn't seen his mother lifting her gaze to look at his retreating figure as he had approached the staircase. Hadn't seen the softened expression, not the usual cold one he always saw, but actually an expression that was filled with emotions. 

"Riku…" she murmured, looking a little lost for a moment before she managed to focus back on her book. She sighed. This boy was nothing but trouble, hating her as though she was incarnation of evil. She knew that he didn't like the way she treated him and handled things, but she also knew that it was her duty to be like that. She simply _had_ to be like that. 

"I promised…and promises are made to be kept." 

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she forced her usual attitude back on, eyes staring at the pages before her. 

---- 

The day of the Halloween party came faster than Sora thought and soon it was afternoon and he was standing in the restroom with Riku. 

"Come on, let's get changed," the silver haired boy urged, unable to hide the excitement. Sora looked suspiciously at the pile of clothes that had been shoved into his hands. Riku had insisted on surprising him with the costume. 

"Well…what is it…?" he asked, placing the clothes out on the floor to look at them. 

Riku smirked. "You're the helpless, naïve victim that has been bitten by the great vampire…" 

He pointed at himself and Sora raised his eyebrows. 

"…and now you're a vampire too," the silver haired boy finished, slipping into his costume and putting on his cloak. 

"…you're crazy." Sora sighed and shook his head, eyeing the clothes for some time before he actually began to change into them. 

When they were finished with everything, they turned to look into the mirror. It was perfect. Except for the fake teeth but they were such a hassle to put on so Sora wanted to put it off as long as possible. 

Sora looked at his reflection in the mirror. It wasn't bad. But Riku thought something was missing. 

"What do you think?" he asked, wrapping his arms around his waist as he stood behind the boy. 

"I don't know. What's supposed to be missing? I'll put on the teeth later…" 

Riku smiled. "Not the teeth…" He leaned his head on Sora's shoulder, causing the other boy to blush again. It reminded him of the last time they'd been here. Kind of like a dejà-vu actually. 

"You're my fledgling…you've been bitten…so where are the bite marks?" 

Sora's eyes widened when he saw Riku's head turning to his neck. "Ummm….they…they healed when I was turned into an immortal…?" 

Riku chuckled. "Would make sense, yes." He pulled away, looked at the door for a minute. "But actually… you've just been bitten, so the marks are still there." 

Sora yelped as he felt Riku lick over his neck. "Gahh-h-he-hey! Don't!" He began to laugh. "H-hey that tickles!" 

Riku snickered and drew away for a moment. "Hey, stand still, I'm trying to bite you here." 

Sora pouted but calmed down, doing as Riku said. Which surprised the silver haired boy a little. He looked at Sora's reflection for some time before he turned back to his neck again. Without thinking, he kissed it, causing Sora to shudder involuntarily. Kissing turned into nibbling and nibbling turned into sucking, and Riku was more than determined to mark Sora. Even if this mark wasn't going to look like the little punctured marks of fangs. 

Sora, meanwhile, was melting into a puddle. When Riku stopped, Sora almost thought his knees were going to give in. 

"Soooo…" Riku grinned, inspecting his work. 

Sora blushed a deep shade of red as he looked at what Riku had done. "This…you just…gave me a hickey." 

Luckily, or maybe unfortunately, Tidus chose this moment to barge into the restroom, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Hey there you are! You _gotta_ see the girls!" 

He was wearing a pirate costume, which looked a little ridiculous on him but still kind of funny. 

Sora and Riku exchanged a look before nodding at the boy. 

"We'll be right there," Riku said, grabbing Sora's fake teeth to hand it to him. 

Sora grimaced and forced the plastic thing into his mouth. He hated those things. Not that he had ever worn something like this before, but he had always suspected them to be uncomfortable and they were. 

---- 

It was funny how the whole school was filled with students all dressed in crazy costumes. Sora had experienced Halloween parties in his school too, but they had been different. Fewer people. Probably because it hadn't obligatory. He wondered why this school made it obligatory to come to this party. When he asked Riku, he said that it was part of the 'social training' students had to go through. You were always encouraged to join clubs and attend parties to become the social butterfly you're supposed to be. 

Sora really wondered what he was doing in this kind of school. He wasn't trying to be a social butterfly. But he didn't want to transfer either and it wasn't like they had the money to do so. Art school was expensive. Aeris had told Sora about the impressed responses of her colleagues in the conservatory of art, but going to an art school would cost a lot and the way Ryoko was working like crazy just for the basic stuff, Sora couldn't demand to go to a school like that. So he didn't even tell her. 

He also liked this school a lot, he had friends here and didn't want to change again. 

"Hey, Wakka's there too," Tidus cheered, running through the crowded hallway to reach the gym. The gym was always the place they held those parties, Riku explained. 

The boy named Wakka, who was dressed in a similar pirate costume, was standing near the door talking to Kairi and Selphie. Sora raised his eyebrows in surprise as he saw the girls. He didn't even notice Riku getting attacked by a horde of rabid fangirls. 

When he approached the girls, Kairi immediately turned to him and smiled. 

"Sora! What a wonderful costume!" 

He smiled and nodded. "Riku gave it to me." Talking of Riku… He turned around to see the boy trying to get away from a pack of girls pulling on his cloak. 

He grinned. Poor boy, he thought, but it was his own fault to wear an outfit that made him look so hot. 

Wait. He didn't say hot. 

Sora shook his head and turned back to Kairi. She looked awesome. "I never thought you were the gothic type…" he mumbled, looking her over. 

The auburn haired girl smiled and shrugged. "There's a lot you don't know about me," she purred before she started to laugh. 

"Actually Selphie talked me into this. Told me about a gothic French maid costume that just screamed Kairi, as she said." 

Selphie, who was still talking to Wakka, grinned at the mention of her name and bounced up to Sora. 

"Woaaah nice costume, Sora! How do I look? Ain't it great?" 

Sora chuckled and patted her head. "Yep, you look great." She was dressed up as Bubbles of the Powerpuff Girls, minus the blonde hair since she was brunet. But it really looked nice. 

"She's the greatest!" Selphie cheered before turning back to her conversation with Wakka. The red-haired boy gave Sora a nod in greeting but was quickly pulled back into talking with Selphie. 

So Sora was standing next to Kairi, watching Riku deal with his fans. It was fun to watch even though Sora wished Riku could be standing here with him. Well, at least Kairi was there. 

"Say…what's this bruise on your neck?" 

Crap. Sora tensed for a moment before he turned his head to give Kairi a shaky smile. "Um…that's supposed to be…the bite mark… I was bitten by another vampire… and turned into a vampire too…" He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, something that made Kairi melt inwardly, but she stayed calm on the outside. 

"Oh…" she smiled, looking back at Riku in the mass. "So you're his fledgling?" 

Sora blushed. 

"Ahah I take that as a yes." 

He blushed even harder. 

"You know that fledgling and maker are often lovers, right?" 

Okay, that was beyond blushing now. "Kairi…" 

The girl smiled. 

"It's just a costume…" he muttered, still avoiding her gaze and trying to stop blushing. 

Silence spread between them. The sounds of the party inside the gym floated through the air and Sora idly wondered why they weren't going in there. A curt turn of his head to peek inside let him understand it, though. The room was already too crowded. He never knew the school had so many people. 

"The hickey looks real, though," Kairi suddenly said, standing on her tiptoes to inspect Sora's neck. 

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, backing away instinctively. No one was supposed to be so close to your neck. He quickly covered the mark with his hand and frowned. 

"It's not a hickey…and it's not real…" he mumbled, squeezing his neck slightly. 

Kairi shrugged and decided to drop the subject. Instead, she turned to Selphie and joined the conversation. 

Sora stood alone, watching Riku a little further away, stuck talking with some people. He sighed. This party sucked. And he was tired. And he was supposed to do a lot of stuff at home, how could he waste his time at this party? He could have gone grocery shopping, done the housework and his homework instead of standing here alone. 

_Alone_. He sighed, leaning his head against the wall as he tilted it up to look at the ceiling. Eventually, he sank down and sat on the floor, hugging his knees. Kairi glanced at him in concern but actually, she didn't know what to do, suspecting that he was missing Riku. She couldn't help him there since she knew she could never be a good substitute. 

And so the party went on, Sora sitting on the floor, people walking by every now and then. Kairi and Selphie had tried to go inside the gym to the 'real' party, though it was hard to say where the party was anyway. The whole building was being used as a party place, it seemed. 

Wakka sat with Sora for a while, doing some small talk but gave up when he realized they were getting nowhere. Sora's mood was sinking from second to second. And eventually, he was ready to go home. 

Getting up, he made his way through the masses, towards Riku. He didn't care about the looks he got as he pushed some people out of his way. When he reached his friend, he grabbed his hand to get his attention. 

Gasps and surprised murmuring went through the people around them. Someone was _touching_ the untouchable. 

"I'm going home. I'm tired. Thanks for the costume and everything." He stopped, looking around at the staring faces. 

He turned back to Riku and mouthed something, hoping no one would be able to get it. Riku smiled sadly and nodded, squeezing Sora's hand before he let go. 

"I'm sorry…" he murmured as Sora walked past him. The boy smiled and turned back, shaking his head. 

Then he went home. 

---- 

At home, Sora crashed into the couch because he couldn't make it to his room. It was just too far away. He was still in his costume, hadn't bothered to change because even that would have cost too much energy. Energy he didn't have. 

And again, a day had passed by while a lot of work had been left undone. Dust was starting to gather everywhere and Sora knew he would have to clean the rooms sometime. But not right now. Right now he just wanted to… 

The phone rang. 

He would have been annoyed at anyone who disturbed him now but he knew that only one person would call him since no one else had his number. So he forced himself up to get the phone. 

"Yeah?" He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. 

"Sora… I'm sorry about today." Riku sounded tired, too. 

"Don't be," Sora replied, sitting down on kitchen counter as standing was too much. 

"I wanted to have fun with you there. I hate those parties because I'm always stuck with those stupid people… I thought maybe with you…we could…" He sighed. "I promise I'll make it up to you." 

Sora blinked. Then he smiled. "Don't be stupid. It's not your fault the party sucked. Besides… we can have our own party sometime…" 

Now it was Riku's turn to blink. "…when..?" 

Sora continued smiling. "I was thinking…when we're on that school trip…" It had been officially announced now, so everyone was already anticipating it. "We could share rooms, right?" 

Sleeping with Sora, Riku's mind supplied and he smacked his forehead for that thought. 

"Yeah…" he absently replied before he actually understood. "We're definitely going to do that. So we can spend the whole time together." 

He could almost see Sora beam at this. He liked it when Sora was happy. 

The brunet yawned. "Hey, um, I'm tired. I'll hang up now…" He yawned again. 

Riku frowned and nodded even though Sora couldn't see it. Silence followed and Riku waited for Sora to hang up, or at least say something. But the other boy didn't. 

"Sora?" 

Sora gave a weak "Hm?" but that was all he got. 

Riku's frown deepened and he pondered. He couldn't think of anything to help his friend, yet he wanted to do something. 

He kissed the receiver. "It's not the same as kissing you but the receiver might transfer the kiss to you," he mumbled. 

Sora blinked and shook his head to stay awake. "You mean…you just kissed the receiver..?" he slowly asked, sounding a little incredulous. 

Riku's cheek reddened a bit and he sighed. "Well, yeah… I do that a lot…but you never noticed…and I never told you…" he trailed off, finding it hard to explain why he did that. 

Sora, however, didn't need an explanation. Not when he was doing the same every time they were talking on the phone. 

He kissed the receiver too. "Maybe my kiss gets you, too. It hasn't worked until now, but you can still hope, right?" 

He could almost see Riku wrinkle his nose in confusion. 

"What…?" Then he paused. And smiled. "Oh. This is weird," he chuckled. 

Sora agreed, smiling contently now that he knew that they had been both doing those things. Weird, yeah, but nice nonetheless. 

"Well, I'm going to hang up now…really…" 

"Have a good rest, love," Riku softly said, wishing he could hug Sora for comfort. 

"You too. Don't get into too much trouble with your mother… it'll make you feel bad." 

Riku nodded, knowing that Sora wasn't expecting him to answer this. 

"Bye…" Sora murmured before hanging up. 

When he placed the receiver back to where it belonged, he hopped off the counter and headed towards his room. Talking to Riku had given him some energy back, almost as though it was some kind of miracle cure. 

Sora yawned a few more times as he stripped off the clothes that made costume, folding them neatly and putting them on his chair even though he should have been too exhausted to care. The fake teeth had come off sometime during the party so he didn't have to go through the hassle of getting those out. 

Collapsing on his bed, Sora had only one thought. 

The school trip where he would spend five days with Riku and share a room with him. 

He fingered the mark on his neck, blushing again. 

"Riku..." 

– To be continued –

* * *

**Ending notes: **Okay, so I did the Halloween thing. Sorry if it was late and rushed, I don't know why I included that anyway. Oh, right... I needed and excuse for Riku to give Sora a hickey XD  
Yeah... I wonder what Ryoko will say about that. If she ever gets to see Sora, she's working like crazy... and Sora's breaking down too. And Riku's mom... I actually have a lot of background story for her, might add it sooner or later.  
All right, that's it. Hope you liked this one.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** It's getting boring but, I don't own Kingdom Hearts

**Author's notes**: Anyone remember me? After more than a year, I'm sort of back…? It's an experimental chapter, really, so I don't know what you guys will think about it. I haven't been into all this for a long while, so I might have gotten rusty and lost the touch or however you want to call it. Anyways. I'm also confused about the edit/preview thing, as my browser keeps messing up. Well, let's just hope it worked out like this.

This chapter is now the beginning of the school trip…

* * *

Sunday mornings were there to sleep. You weren't supposed to be awake on Sunday mornings. No, you weren't. Really. Being awake on a Sunday morning? Ha! Impossible.

Well, seemingly, though, it was not impossible, as Sora found himself dragging his luggage towards the bus, eyelids heavy and movements sluggish. Sure, Sora was energetic and happy most of the times but there were _exceptions. Exceptions_ like Sunday mornings. Because you just did not get up before noon on Sunday (Sora barely slept during the week because of all the work he had to do so he needed Sundays...)

"Aw, come on sweetie, don't make such a face," he heard his mother coo, and if he hadn't been so busy trying to shove that damn bag into the bus's store room, he would have glared at her for calling him sweetie in front of his class. Well, at least he wasn't the only one whose parents were there. Almost every student was accompanied by their parents and siblings, all saying goodbye or doing small talk with others.

Sora finally managed to make that bag vanish and went back to his mother, heaving a sigh.

"You really didn't need to get up for me," he mumbled, knowing exactly that she was just as tired, just as overworked as him (if not more). But Ryoko only smiled, patting her son's head affectionately.

"You wanna make me look like a bad mother, huh? How can I stay at home and sleep when my little baby boy is leaaaaaaaving me?" the woman cried.

That sure drew some attention, Sora thought, as some of the people standing around turned their heads to see who was causing this commotion. Ryoko, suddenly the center of attention, cocked her head in a childlike way and looked at everyone staring at her.

"What? Don't tell me you're happy about your kids leaving you. What are we old hags going to do with our little sunshines?"

She just had to make it worse by pinching Sora's cheek. Some of the teens laughed, some pitied Sora. The parents, though, merely shook their heads and some started murmuring about _that strange woman over there_.

Ryoko didn't care. She wasn't one of those stuck up people and she was proud of it.

"And you better be proud, too," she told Sora, who, of course, had no idea what she was talking about.

It was still early. 6:30 am. Sora couldn't believe that he was actually awake. He had been up until 2 am, talking to Riku on the phone. He hadn't expected to wake up in time and more importantly _be ready to leave_ in time.

Then it occurred to him. Riku hadn't arrived yet. Neither had Kairi. Well, there were still about fifteen minutes left and there were still a few people missing. It was no reason to worry, right? Sora did have a slightly queasy feeling when he thought about going on this trip without Kairi and Riku. He would need _someone_ there because Selphie, Tidus and that Wakka he had met at the Halloween party, were not in his class, and aside from them he had no real friends. Actually, the rest of his class was more like a mass of drooling Riku-worshippers.

But Riku would arrive eventually, he knew that. They wouldn't leave without most important person.

Some muttering and hurried whispering interrupted Sora's train of thought. He looked at the small group of girls next to him, seeing them pointing at the road. He turned his head, following the direction of their gazes and eventually saw Kairi coming up, dragging her luggage with her.

No one seemed to be accompanying her and Sora thought he heard one of the girls say that her parents probably wanted her to leave as soon as possible because she was such a nuisance. He glared at them for saying those things about Kairi and was already opening his mouth to tell them to stop when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't," Ryoko murmured as she shook her head. It was better to leave them alone because those girls, definitely part of the Riku fanclub, were the worst when they were angry.

So Sora remained silent, watching how Kairi trudged towards him. She seemed tired and in a foul mood but as soon as she saw Sora, her face lit up and she let go of the bag, running towards Sora to hug him.

"Good morning!" she greeted him, squeezing him once before pulling away to get her bag into the bus.

Ryoko watched it all with a smile. She liked Kairi. She had met her once during the last week when she had come with Sora and Riku to study. She was a nice girl and very polite, yet she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. It was something Ryoko liked a lot.

But she also felt bad for Kairi because she had the suspicion that she might not only _like_ Sora but perhaps wished for more. And seeing how close Riku was to Sora, it didn't seem like she had a chance. But Sora, being the nice boy he was, always treated Kairi with care and affection. He cared a lot about her and he couldn't deny that he liked her hugging him. The jealousy and suspicion he previously had was gone now.

Riku had confessed the story about the fiancée thing and that that was the reason they were always whispering about things. He had explained why they wanted to keep it secret and even though Kairi had wanted to keep it secret for longer, Riku couldn't stand lying to Sora.

So now Sora knew, but Kairi didn't know that he knew. However, it was all right that way because Sora could finally stop wondering what was going on between everyone, and even though he had the suspicion that he might be the person Riku had spoken of when he had told him that she liked someone, he decided to treat her just like he would treat her normally. The only thing that still irked him sometimes was that Riku never talked about his friendship with Kairi, how it had been before Sora came and if there had been any changes…

6:40.

"Five minutes left, so Riku better hurry up…" Kairi murmured as she looked at her watch. Sora nodded, standing beside her now as she had finished squeezing her bag into the bus.

It seemed as though everyone was waiting for Riku. Well, most of the pupils were there now, only Riku was missing. Being class president, he should've been there earlier than anyone but seemingly he was the last one to arrive. If he arrived at all.

"I can see a limousine!" someone suddenly exclaimed, sending everyone raising their heads in order to look at the road. Sora could barely make out what was happening with everyone standing in front of him. Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder to support herself as she stood on her tiptoes.

"Yeah, that's Riku's…" she murmured before starting to smile. Coming back to standing on her soles, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Figures, he'd make sure to have a big entrance and show off…"

Sora cocked his head. Big entrance? Show off? Riku wasn't like that… But then it hit him. Of course _their_ Riku was like that. Sora sighed. He had gotten used to the _real_ Riku so much that he sometimes completely forgot about the person everyone else knew. Then again, Riku, the _real_ one probably _would_ show off. Kairi was right, after all.

The limousine parked right next to the bus and the doors at the sides opened to reveal two servants getting out, one extending his hand to help Riku out of the car (which the boy didn't take), and another one carrying the luggage to a special depot in the bus. Yeah, Riku got an extra space for his stuff because it was his parents who paid most of this trip. The school used the saved money that they received through donations of rich parents and sponsors but Riku's parents had felt like contributing to this trip a little more. Why? To strengthen the relationship between them and school, of course. Riku was to be treated like a prince, and it was well known that the right treatment had its price.

So there he was now, dusting off his clothes as he left the limousine, waving a dismissing hand at his servants.

Of course his parents hadn't accompanied him, why should they? They had made sure he got the limousine and that was enough.

He could almost feel it coming, though, as a horde of girls and boys suddenly started storming towards him. The whole place was deserted and only Sora, Kairi and Ryoko were left standing where they had been.

The rest was crowded around Riku, just like a horde of animals surrounding food. Squealing girls whipped out their presents, most of them were scarves or gloves since it was really cold now. The middle of December, after all.

Some boys even had their presents for Riku and begged him to help them be as cool as him.

The silver haired boy played with them, nodding to everything, smiling at everyone, promising things that would be soon forgotten.

Kairi started shivering then, for a freezing gust of wind came up and Sora quickly put an arm around her. She couldn't help but blush when she felt Sora hold her and even though she knew that it was wrong, she couldn't stop herself from shivering more, deliberately, to get more attention.

But Sora's attention wasn't centered on her. He was watching Riku longingly, hoping that he would at least see the boy sometime during whole trip. Well, they had promised to share a room…

"All right, everyone, we're already five minutes behind the schedule. Better hurry up!" One of the teachers, Ms Larxene, a young woman with bright blonde hair and almost turquoise eyes that had just started working in this school, crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Come on, you brats. You don't wanna miss the trip now, do you?"

Some of the parents looked at her strangely, feeling that her language and posture was rather inappropriate for a teacher. She didn't seem to care, though, and only glared at them in that 'Don't piss me off' kind of way.

Hurriedly, the students entered the bus, anticipating the week away from their parents. Sora and Kairi were the last to enter, safe for Riku, and Ryoko waved at them. She felt a bit sorry for Kairi as no one had come to say goodbye to her. So she patted her head just like she did with Sora before they left, and she waved at both at them as though they both were her children.

Then it was Riku's turn to leave. He had seen his friends and Ryoko when he arrived but he wasn't counting on talking to them while the fans were around him. So when he was the only one left, everyone waiting for him, he turned his head to Sora's mother and smiled at her, raising his hand to wave at her.

A few surprised gasps were audible, then agitated murmuring ensued among the remaining parents and everyone started looking back and forth between Riku and Ryoko.

The woman chuckled. "Yeah, your perfect God knows that crazy woman," she muttered under her breath before smiling brightly and waving at Riku.

When he entered the bus, Ms Larxene rolled her eyes as if to say 'Finally!' and sat down in the front seat along with Ms Gainsborough as those two were going to take care of the class during the trip. Aeris was a bit skeptic about Larxene because she didn't seem to have any plan or schedule. '_Let them run around on their own until we get home' _was what she said. Aeris could only shake her head towards that attitude, even though she had been planning on eliminating the teacher-student relationship for this trip.

The bus already started moving when Riku made his way to the back seats. There were two seats on each side of the narrow corridor. The backseats were usually occupied with the teacher's bags. But this time, there were only two seats occupied, so two were vacant. Well, one, since Sora had taken one of them. Kairi was sitting right in front of him, alone. It might have looked funny to others (if they had actually paid attention) since they were both sitting alone, but it was intended that way.

Everyone tensed and then sighed in disappointment when Riku passed them, all having hoped that Riku would somehow brush against them or stop to talk to them.

It was the same drama for every seat until he reached the last one, Sora's and sat down next to him.

Sora was sitting at the window and Riku sat down next to the bags. Aeris looked back at them as if to check, then nodded in approval. It was good to see Riku sitting next to the bags, because she didn't trust the other students. They might have taken something out or put their garbage in. Kids were like that…

---

One hour into the driving and Sora was nearly dozing off. The vibrating movements of the bus only made him sleepier and he was fighting the urge to fall asleep.

Kairi had made herself comfortable, having two seats for herself, and was reading a book. Riku had been talking to her a few minutes ago but now that she settled with something to do, he was just sitting there, staring ahead.

He wasn't tired. Unlike Sora, who, as he turned his head to check, was beginning to drool slightly in his state of half-sleep. He smiled.

"You even look cute when you drool," he whispered, reaching out a finger to poke at the corner of Sora's lips.

Sora jerked at the touch and snapped his eyes open, staring at Riku. "Wh-what?" He then yawned and his head got heavy, so he leaned it back against the seat.

Riku, still smiling, shifted sideways in his seat to face Sora. He lifted a hand and moved it over Sora's face, which caused the younger boy to sigh and relax immediately. Riku withdrew his hand and shifted again, this time to put one arm around Sora, pulling him close so the boy could rest his head on Riku's shoulder.

He heard Sora mumble something sleepily and smiled. "No, Sora, we're not there yet," he gently answered, moving his arm down so his hand was resting on Sora's side.

The younger boy sighed, then yawned again, shifting to snuggle closer to Riku. He didn't think much about others since they were in the back seats where no one would really see them. And even if they did see them like that… well, they could go to hell, for all he cared. Of course he knew that they would probably skin him alive of burn him at the stake for being so close to the one they worshipped but… really… he was tired. And it was still a Sunday morning on which no one was supposed to be up.

Riku started massaging his side slightly, fingers dancing on the sweatshirt Sora was wearing. And very quietly, almost inaudibly, to make sure that no one else would catch it, he whispered a little "I love you" to his friend.

----

They were already there when Sora woke up. The bus driver had stopped about five minutes ago but the brunet had been sleeping like a baby and no one had had the heart to wake him. Riku was still beside him, watching over him as he made sure no one was forgetting anything in the bus while the dozens of students gradually left the vehicle.

"Whattimesit…?" Sora sleepily asked as his mind drifted into consciousness, trying to sit up properly but stopping when he felt his neck ache from the movement. 'Damn… I feel sore all over…' He wasn't the type to sleep while sitting; no matter how small and cramped his bed was (compared to a certain silver haired boy's king-sized thing of a bed), he could still lie down and stretch out – at least somewhat.

"Quarter past three. We've been driving for the last few hours and you were asleep almost all of the time, sleepyhead," Riku answered with a teasing smile, poking the other boy's forehead. "How about you get up and help me bring our luggage out?"

Sora blinked at the words that came pouring out of Riku's mouth, not quite registering their meaning and not thinking that it was that important. "Mmhm…" He closed his eyes again, yawning and curling up even as he grimaced at the pain that came from his back, signalizing that he was going to get even sorer if he stayed in here.

"…You weren't listening at all, were you?" He faintly heard the voice, but it was nice and distorted as his mind already went back into the depths of wonderland- or dreamland, whatever one might call the place where sweets grow on trees and homework is non existent and "...Riku's my boyfriend…" Sora mumbled in continuation of his thoughts before snapping awake in embarrassment. He had _not_ just said that. Especially not in front of Riku.

"What was that?" Riku absently asked, tilting his head back to look at Sora as he rummaged through the backpack in the seat next to him.

"Nothing," Sora quickly muttered, getting up only to fall back into the seat. 'Great. Legs fell asleep. Stupid legs.' He sighed in annoyance, rubbing his eyes full of sleep before turning to Riku. "Uh, so, we're here?" It was a silly question, really, as Riku had just told him that they were.

The silver haired boy nodded and gestured towards the window, still messing with something in his backpack, though Sora couldn't see what he was looking for. "Everyone's already starting to get their bags. We'll be given the keys to rooms in a minute," he heard him go on and quickly looked out of the window, noting that little snowflakes were floating in the air.

"Snow!" he cried out in excitement, completely forgetting about his legs and jumping up again, hugging the seat before him to keep standing as his legs gave in again. "Snow! Look, there's snow!" Now he _loved_ snow, even more than rain. It was like better version of rain; so pure and white and extremely soft when it was fresh.

He remembered jumping into previously made heaps of snow when he was little, crawling around in the wetness until his parents had to drag a completely soaked little boy out of the heap, throwing him into a bathtub filled with warm water until his lips regained their usual rosy color, and not that bluish hue.

Even though he always caught a cold after these little escapades, freezing on his way home when his father or mother would hide him under their coats, he always remembered these times with a smile. He suspected he had been smiling the whole time back then, too, even with a running nose and a sore throat. Childhood memories…

Riku meanwhile grabbed the list he had been looking for, going through the names and numbers next to them before he nodded, starting to get up.

"Let's go, it's time to move in." He smiled when he saw Sora nearly delirious with happiness, shaking his head at how little things could make the boy happy. 'It's amazing… it's like everything's magical for him…'

When they got out of the bus, half of the students instantly tried to get to Riku, starting to storm towards him and only stopping when he held up a hand. Good thing they were like dogs, Sora thought, smiling at how one gesture was enough to control them.

"Now, you guys all filled out that list, right? We checked…" He paused, glancing at Aeris to see her nod before he continued. "And it all works out." 'And no, none of you morons got a room with me,' he added silently, seeing that they had all first tried to get the same number as Riku so they would be assigned to the same room.

Sora yawned, tempted to lean against Riku as he spoke and nearly drifting off at the beautiful snow and nice fresh air, before he was ripped out of his thoughts by a rather loud voice.

"Now get in, brats! Remember, it's double beds only, so no boys and girls in the same bed unless you want to bring your parents nice diaper-wearing souvenirs!"

That was Ms Larxene, all right. He still wondered how she could have been chosen as teacher for a school like this, but then a lot of things in this school didn't make sense. It didn't make sense how it could be such a fancy and rich school and still be cheap enough for Sora to be able to go there. It also didn't make sense that the headmaster was no older than twenty-five, unless he was some kind of immortal, non-aging being. And he didn't even want to think about that crazy secretary that ran around in ninja clothing…

"Are you done daydreaming?" Riku chuckled when he nudged Sora, sensing that he had totally spaced out.

"Uh…huh?" The brunet blinked, shaking his head and then wrinkling his nose as he felt a snowflake hit his face. "So we're checking in?" He grinned, suddenly completely awake and hyper. This was his week with Riku! Sharing a room, being with him without having to work on anything, being together, sharing a room,…. 'Wait.'

"Double beds?"

Riku blinked when Sora suddenly tugged on his coat, wanting to get in as fast as possible as the rest of the students were already vanishing into the building. It wasn't the biggest and most luxurious one; just a big hut, but it seemed nice enough.

"Yeah, double beds. Didn't you know?" He paused, wondering if he had never told Sora and now worrying that the other might mind sharing a bed. Not that there was any reason for that, but…

Sora zoned out again at the confirmation, only slowly shaking his head to the question when he finally registered it. 'Sharing a room with…sharing a _bed_ with Riku!' his mind piped and suddenly his eyes widened and his hand went to grab Riku's arm.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Riku could only blink as he got dragged into the house, trying to keep up with a suddenly very hyper Sora as he had to carry the remaining luggage as well. He smiled after a moment of being pulled along, finally entering the warm hut and seeing that it was indeed cozy.

"Let's find our room then…" Riku murmured, seeing Aeris wave at him as she handed out the keys to the students, throwing Riku's towards him so he wouldn't have to get close to the rabid fan-club. He was thankful for Aeris, who knew of his 'suffering'… even if she had caught him and Sora kissing once… up till now, she hadn't caused any more trouble, so that was all right.

Eventually, they reached the room. It was upstairs, a small but beautifully carved wooden door with a number on it, and Riku couldn't help but think of it as a door to another world when he thought about how he would spend the evenings and night with Sora in there for the next few days.

"So here it is…" Sora murmured, smiling slightly as he leaned against Riku, still standing beside him and looking at the door just as Riku was doing it. They stood quietly for another moment before both reaching for the doorknob, pausing, then turning to glance at each other.

Sora gave Riku a smile, Riku returned it and then they nodded at each other and opened the door together.

The week they had been waiting for was finally here.

– To be continued –

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**Ending notes:** I know, nothing much happened but if everything goes well and I do keep writing… the trip will take up a few chapters and be filled with all kinds of fluff and nice stuff… So, reviews are appreciated. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Blurb:** Seems like I'm back, or at least, I updated with one new chapter. I'm not sure if anyone is still waiting, but I did read each and every review I got in the past, what, two years? I'm amazed that this story is liked by so many people despite not having been updated in forever. Naturally, I apologize for my long absence and I really hope that I can continue this until it's finished.

So, this chapter is dedicated to all of the people who waited, and part of it dedicated to myself, because I think I've overcome something and matured. Thanks to that, I will hopefully be able to finish this story, along with Blueberry Sky, which still needs at least a few more chapters, too.

Oh, and since it's been ages since I last wrote anything about FFTFT, there _might _ some inconsistencies... Try to ignore them okay? And I know some confusing stuff (?) that might seem irrelevant is happening in this chapter, but I planned to tie it all together in the end. At least I hope I can manage.

* * *

"Does that remind you of something?" Riku asked as he glanced at his friend, raising an eyebrow at how the boy was still staring, even after five whole minutes.

"I—um—actually…"

They had entered the room a while ago, both reaching to open the door together, and Riku had felt as though a new world had been revealed to him when he saw what was hidden behind the wooden door.

'One bed big enough to fit two people, even if it's way smaller than the one at home… a window big enough to see all of the town's houses…'

A small table with two chairs and a big mirror standing against the wall as though it was yet another door to an unknown world. Then there was another door to what must have been the bathroom, since they had been told that there would be one in every room.

"It's just like grandma's room," Sora eventually murmured, his voice thick with awe and something Riku wasn't sure he could decipher.

"Grandma?" he asked lightly, smiling when the brunet nodded absently and then turned to glance at him.

'Grandma…' he thought to himself, the image of a small, weak woman coming to his mind. 'My grandmother…'

Kira, or so he thought when he tried to remember her name; he really couldn't be sure if that was it since he had never heard anyone call her name directly. Although she was the wife of retired wealthy business man, she had never done much more than stand around as some kind of decoration, following her husband wherever he went and letting him treat her as an object rather than a person.

'They always called her weak and clumsy…' He wasn't sure what _he_ thought about her, never having really spent time with her, but somewhere in his heart he must have felt the same, be it because of his own sense of pride or because of what he had always heard from his parents. 'A weak person who always let everyone push her around…'

"See the curtains there? Granny had the same. I always thought it was weird to have flowery patterns on curtains but it's kind of nice, after all…"

Riku blinked, realizing where his thoughts had been and feeling slightly shamed to have spaced out like that when this was supposed to be _their_ week.

"Sorry…" he murmured quietly, although he wasn't sure Sora heard it. 'I won't think about home now… this is our world…'

"Whoa! Look at that!! They have a TV!"

Sora jumped towards the desk that held a small TV, frantically pressing the buttons on the remote, his eyes lighting up when some kind of shampoo commercial came on, and the quiet room was suddenly filled with music and voices, making it alive and cheerful.

Riku had to smile and shook his head when he watched his friend. 'So easily distracted…' he thought in amusement, walking to the door and picking up their discarded bags to start putting away their things while Sora dragged a chair over to sit.

"You're going to get bad eyes if you sit so close to the screen, Sora," Riku chided although he wasn't sure if he sounded serious at all, too amused by the sight of the teen sitting there with his knees drawn up and hugging the remote, completely absorbed into the colorful world of commercials and game shows.

Seeing Sora like this made him think a little—about himself and about things that had changed ever since the boy had come into his life. He remembered his first time in Sora's house, a place small enough to be his _closet_ , if you wanted to describe it like that.

But even as small and cramped as it had been, there had been a certain feeling inside that house. He thought that it might have been the difference in temperature due to the limited space, but gradually, he had come to realize that this feeling didn't only reside in the house itself; it was there whenever Sora was with him.

Sora had no television at home, no money for anything but the most necessary things; it made him feel guilty for everything he had but at the same time he felt that he needed all these things to distract himself from the other things that were going on in his life.

An education he didn't want, drilled into his head from the moment he was born, great expectations he always had to meet—and although he always seemed confident and even arrogant, he also sometimes felt insecure in his heart, afraid of not being able to do everything that was asked of him.

Sora didn't have those problems, and he envied his friend for that.

'But he lost his father… and he never sees his mother…'

And yet, the brunet never seemed to falter, never stopped to be depressed about anything—no, he never stopped. Sora never hesitated and never gave up. Sora kept on moving like a clockwork, doing everything that had to be done at home and going to school, even finding the time to comfort someone like himself, just like he did during their nightly phone calls. If anyone should have a fanclub and be admired by everyone, it should be Sora, and not him.

"I don't know why you came to me, but I thank whoever made you enter my life…" Riku mumbled eventually, despite knowing how sappy that thought was; he meant it because he appreciated Sora's presence more than anything else.

'And I want you to know that…how important you are to me…'

"Then thank yourself, silly. You're the one who gave me a nosebleed on the first day and dragged me off to the restroom."

Riku blinked in surprise when he heard the muffled response, dropping the shirt he had been holding and planning to put into the closet.

"W-What?" he asked almost faintly, still blinking when he saw Sora in the same position as before, just as though he hadn't said anything at all.

But then, slowly, the boy turned his head, and Riku saw the gesture he had fallen in love with: Sora smiled at him, genuinely, cheerfully, and so comfortingly that he couldn't help but smile back, feeling the warmth and reassurance that only Sora could give him.

"If Mister Charming Monster hadn't seduced me right away, I might have gotten lost on my first day and been the clown of the school for the rest of the year…" Sora said even as he kept smiling, a faint ding-dong sound coming from the TV when someone answered a question on the game show.

They stared at each other for a while, both smiling, while the TV continued to rattle on with its noises and colors, making up for the silence they were causing.

Eventually, Riku began to chuckle, shaking his head and then starting to laugh a little as he let himself fall onto the bed behind him, taking a deep breath when he stared up at the ceiling.

"You're an angel. I swear you are," he said with the most content smile he had ever worn.

Sora merely chuckled in response and turned back to the screen, shifting slightly in the chair and placing the remote on the armrest.

"If I'm an angel, then you're the devil," he joked after a moment, humming when he heard another short laugh, knowing that Riku was taking it the way he meant it.

"Yeah… maybe I'll taint you eventually, pure little angel…"

'But maybe you'll make me into an angel, too…' he whispered in his mind, rolling to the side and curling up for a moment, hearing a soft creak when the mattress adjusted to the shift.

More silence filled the room, except the game show was still going and applause was heard whenever someone answered something correctly. It became far away for Riku when he closed his eyes, absorbing the scent of the unfamiliar but nice room, liking the way the pillow wasn't _perfect_, but still somehow very comfortable.

He ignored the fact that he had stopped putting their clothes away and simply stayed like that for as long as he could, hearing an occasional yawn or sigh from Sora and almost drifting off in the relaxed atmosphere, before the sounds suddenly stopped and he heard clothes rustling, first wondering if Sora had gone to work on their bags, before he felt the weight on the bed, realizing where his friend was.

"Aeris isn't going to make us do homework here or something, right? She said it's a vacation…"

Riku tried to open his eyes and shift to look at Sora but he felt too lethargic to bother with all that movement and instead settled for a small grunt, earning a snigger from his friend.

"Pig." he heard Sora say, ignoring it and heaving a sigh when he realized just how relaxed he was feeling now.

But a second later, he felt warmth looming over him, his eyes finally obeying his mind and opening only to see Sora leaning over him, watching him, and studying him with a kind of care that he hadn't seen in anyone else's eyes before.

Before he knew what he was doing, his arms moved to wrap themselves around the boy's shoulders, pulling him down and bringing their faces close together, so close that he could feel the warmth between them.

They looked at each other for a moment then, only staying close like this and not moving, before he finally leaned up and kissed Sora, staying in that position for a while until he found it too uncomfortable and shifted to switch their positions.

Sora didn't struggle when he was suddenly under Riku but he kept his eyes open even as Riku kissed him—and he kissed back.

Riku was looking right back at him, their faces so close together that it was hard to see clearly, but it didn't matter because all they needed was the soft touching of lips, the warmth of having a body so close to their own, and the overwhelming pools of color that were the other's eyes.

Eventually, Sora gave in and let his eyes slide shut, and Riku did the same, both of them trying not to break the moment that seemed so fragile between them right now, as if one tiny movement into the wrong direction would disperse the magic that surrounded them.

But Riku felt a small nip on his bottom lip, surprised into parting his lips an inch, and it was enough for Sora to initiate something that wasn't their usual playful brushing of lips, but something far deeper.

'I think... I think I really love you, Sora…' he thought dazedly when he felt hands on his back, fingers curling into his shirt and then loosening their grip to slide somewhere else, an unconscious caress that made him shiver with every touch even if he knew that he usually wasn't ticklish. He moved to be closer to Sora, not worrying about pressing his weight onto the other because he was careful, and because Sora seemed to be pulling him closer willingly when he felt the movement.

The kiss slowly became chaste again until their lips were just lingering against each other, the light puffs of breath warm and soft. Riku wanted to be even closer than that and Sora thought the same, and they ended up hugging each other tightly, the silver haired boy moving to place a gentle kiss on his friend's neck to earn a sound that faintly sounded like a mew, making him smile.

After what seemed to be a long time, Riku slowly began to hear the sounds of the television again, realizing that Sora hadn't turned it off but merely lowered the volume. They had shifted after a few moments to lie to next to each other, but Sora was curled up against him, holding one of his hands and playing with it by stroking his palm, smiling every time he saw Riku twitching and curling his fingers in reaction.

Nothing else seemed to matter in this moment, in this room—in this world that was their own little sanctuary now.

"Sora! Riku! Are you in there?"

Well, even if it didn't matter, Riku had to admit defeat and acknowledge that the outside world was still _there_.

'It would be unfair to ignore Kairi now… would it?'

As if being able to sense his thoughts, Sora made a disapproving little sound and nudged him, convincing him to get up after all, no matter how nice it had been just now.

"I want to know who she's rooming with. You know no one in class likes her since she's friends with us… I feel sorry for her…"

Riku had to agree to that, knowing how hard it had been for Kairi to be accepted in the first place since she had never been one of the fangirls, and the fact that she was closest to their object of worship made it all the harder for her. At least she had Selphie and a few other friends that she had met in different courses… but since this was a trip for only their class, none of those friends were with her now.

'The other classes are either going somewhere else or just get a week off…'

"Hey, are you two asleep or what? Don't tell me you're making out in the middle of the afternoon!"

At that, Riku could hear a hushed murmur, blinking in confusion as there seemed to be a second voice, no matter how small and quiet it had sounded.

Sora, meanwhile, went to open the door, grinning sheepishly when Kairi glanced over his shoulder to see the half unpacked clothes and gave him a look as if to call him a lazy bum, like she had started a while ago.

"Honestly, you'd think you'd get _something_ done in one hour. What were you doing, sleeping?"

She smiled when she saw Riku's slightly grumpy expression, smoothing out his disheveled hair in an attempt to hide that they had been in bed just a moment ago.

"Well, I got distracted by the TV. You know how I don't have one at home? It's like Christmas and my birthday on the same day!"

Riku watched as Kairi laughed and poked Sora's forehead, telling him that Christmas _was_ coming very soon, and that she would find something good for his birthday then, if he treasured it so much. But after a moment, he lost interest in that scene, glancing at the girl behind Kairi instead, his eyes widening slightly when he thought he recognized her.

"N-Naminé…?"

Kairi jumped and turned around, slapping her forehead in an apologetic manner and gently taking the blonde's arm to pull her forward.

"Sora, Riku, this is Naminé. She's been living here for a while, but she's coming with us after this week and will go to our school. No one wanted to room with me, so Aeris asked her if it was possible to put me in her room, and she agreed."

She paused then, remembering what had made her jump and looked at Riku quizzically.

"How did you know her name? Or did the headmaster tell you about this already?"

Sora blinked and looked at Riku, too, blinking again when his friend fell silent and glanced away after shaking his head.

"No…No one told me about this… Since it's not any of my business which people are accepted into school and which not."

'After all, it's not like I'm the headmaster or anything.'

Even if his family had a lot to say in almost every area, and the school was supported by his parents' money, he didn't want to be too involved into the whole system, as it would only give him more responsibility. He did establish an okay relationship with the new headmaster after the old one retired, and no matter how weird Leon seemed sometimes, he was a good guy, Riku could tell.

"Well, anyway. We're going to meet downstairs now, you know, discussing the plans for this week. I just hope that Ms Larxene isn't going to make us run laps in the snow or something," the redhead said with a smile before she waved at Sora, taking Naminé's hand a moment later.

"We'll go on ahead, okay? Just be sure to come quickly. You're the class rep, after all."

She only hesitated for a moment, watching Riku's far-off expression for a second before she shook it off.

"Let's go, Naminé. You're part of us now, so you'll have to participate in whatever activity our crazy teachers decided for us."

Riku could see the blonde looking at him with her large blue eyes—they reminded him of Sora, and of a promise that had been made a long time ago—before she glanced down and followed after Kairi, smiling at what the other girl was saying.

When they were out of sight, Sora moved to close the door, his face betraying the wonder and curiosity about the new girl.

"How did you know her name if no one told you? And… what's she doing alone in this hotel… where are her parents? Or are they…"

Riku paled when a certain memory came back to him, the thought of something that had happened more than ten years ago making itself vivid in his mind.

'Naminé… The daughter of Mother's best friend… if anything were to happen to her parents, they wanted Mother to take her in and make her my…my…'

"Oh gods."

Sora blinked when his friend collapsed against the bed, letting out a groan and then starting to bang his head against the pillow, as ineffective as that was—at least it didn't hurt too much.

"Riku?"

Riku buried his head in the pillow, not wanting to believe what was happening. 'But maybe—maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions, maybe it's not like that…'

And maybe his mother had forgotten about that promise already; after all, she had been trying to find a fiancée for a while now; if she had found a fitting one already (Kairi was a candidate, wasn't she? His mother had been completely enchanted with her last time), the promise to Naminè's parents would have to be broken.

'Okay… don't panic. No one's going to marry anyone… I'm not going to marry any of those girls, especially not Naminé.'

He remembered the shy, blonde-haired girl, and how he had played with her a few times when he had been really small. Back then, she had always drawn pictures by herself and he, as the host, had to try and entertain her, even if she said it was okay if he wanted to do something else. He had never seen her as more than an occasional guest that he had to take of, and the visits had stopped very soon after he entered elementary school, but the promise was there, and if his mother remembered…

"Hey, Riku. I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but we should get going," Sora murmured as he stood quietly at the door, looking at the floor instead of giving him the usual cheerful smile.

Riku felt horrible when he shifted to look at the brunet, knowing that it was his fault that Sora was confused now and couldn't smile at him.

"I'll tell you tonight, okay? About everything…"

'Just why do these things like that have to come up every time I think we're going to be fine? How often have I started with 'I'll tell you about everything' already? One day, Sora'll get sick of it, I know it…'

But seeing Sora so unhappy and worried made him want to forget about it, and he finally sat up again, discarding his worries for now and reminding himself that this was supposed to be his week with Sora, and Sora alone.

'And if Mother pushes me into marrying one of the girls, I'll elope with Sora first,' he told himself, suddenly amused by the thought because it was so ridiculous, even if a tiny part in his heart wanted exactly that—to be with Sora, forever, exactly like that.

Sora's eyes lit up when he finally received an answer, nodding and immediately switching to his cheerful self again, going so far as to grab Riku's arm and drag him out bouncing, only stopping to go back and lock the door before he ran down the stairs with his friend.

"If we have to run laps, we can turn it into a snowball fight! Everyone has to run while trying to hit someone else—and the one who gets hit the most has to do something really funny! I should propose that idea, right? Maybe you could—since you're the one in power here—"

Hearing Sora's voice made everything seem to fade away immediately, and Riku found himself smiling at the suggestions, unable to keep himself from teasing his friend when they reached the entrance chamber and headed for the dining hall where they had to meet.

"And what if you're the loser? I could make you do all kinds of things for me…" he purred with a smirk, mentally laughing at the face Sora was making now, turning many, many shades of red.

"Geez, I wonder what you're thinking about… maybe you're not such a pure angel after all…"

'Or maybe this is just the way it is… you, making me feel so happy for no reason at all…'

Sora said something in response but he didn't pay attention to that, knowing that it was just a small protest that was only uttered because Sora wanted to fight the embarrassment.

It was okay, Riku thought, pushing open the door to the dining area and walking in, feeling Sora taking his hand and squeezing it after a moment, giving him another wave of affection and reassurance by that simple gesture.

Yes, it was okay. Because no matter what would happen, Sora would never let go of his hand, and he wouldn't let go of Sora's.

* * *

**Blurb #2: **Yes, that's all for now. Reviews would be nice, so be nice, ne? 


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